[leaf-devel] Config system

[Charles Steinkuehler]

A few quick points about some of the recent discussion:

Regarding the config-db format: It really doesn't matter. The files should be human-readable (plain text), with enough structure (probably via filesystem directories and filenames) to be easily navigated, but all access to the database information by the packaging and any configuration system will be through a defined API, allowing the back-end format to change if required. Who knows...future versions might move to a packed binary format with small C or assembly programs for access, to save space and/or gain speed. While initially a lack of tools may require "power-users" to hand-edit database entries, I would generally consider this unsafe and discourage the practice.

This is all about making a GUI configuration tool: Wrong. Trying to make a simple web or other GUI configuration system simply points out the complexity and inconsistencies in the existing configuration system. This is about *SIMPLIFYING* configuration, making it easier to configure and maintain a LEAF install. Once simplified, front-ends to the configuration system can be provided for plain text (to replace the existing lrcfg system), web browsers, palm-pilots, pocket pagers, hexadecimal keypads, or whatever someone wants to implement. The key is to simplify and organize the configuration process enough to make such things possible.

Pre-Configuration: I like the concept, but in my mind, this also benifits greatly from a simplified configuration system. The biggest benifit to pre-configuration is the ability to use powerful tools unavailable on most LEAF systems to deal with the complexity of configuring current distributions. With the configuration system simplified, a lot of this becomes moot. I think the real driving force for pre-configuration is automatic hardware detection, which would be a good thing.

--
Charles Steinkuehler
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