2009/1/18 al davis <[email protected]>: > On Sunday 18 January 2009, Árpád Magosányi wrote: >> I think it would be instructive to take a tour in the /etc >> directory of a Debian or Ubuntu system. All of the config >> files are expected to be user writable, just do not use >> config generator tools afterwards. If one needs config >> generator, then one uses it, if wants extra, then writes >> config by hand. This wheel is also invented long ago. A lot >> of engineering hours are already spent on thinking through >> this class of problems, and the right solution is already >> found. You just have to learn from it. > > .... and learn from its mistakes. > > The big mistake is that the choice of the config generator tool > is all or nothing.
No. It is possible to separate automatically generated configuration from manual one. The easiest solution is to provide a place which never written but always read, and where one can manually override anything automatically generated. > You can use the config generator as much as > you want, but as soon as you manually edit you must not use the > config generator any more. If you do, you lose the manual > edits. If you manually edit, you don't want to use the config generator anymore. Either because you don't like it, or because you do something which is impossible from the generator. > > Another big flaw in the config generators is that they often > generate really horrible looking config files that nobody would > want to manually edit, even when the original config files are > well designed. This wouldn't be such a problem if the config > generator were relatively complete, but mostly they are not. > Often, they give you just enough to get started. I would disagree with the usage of "often" here. Most of those generated config files are very simple. However this is a point worth thinking about: do not even try to come out with a complex config generator if you are not absolutely have to, because having nothing is far better than having a complex but incomplete solution. This is just the KISS principle applied to configuration. Yes, it is possible to overcomplicate simple variable=value assignments, but you don't have to. _______________________________________________ geda-user mailing list [email protected] http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user
