Re: Debconf as an administration tool
> > > From: Bruce Perens <bruce@perens.com>
> > > To: discuss@lists.userlinux.com
> > > Subject: [Discuss] Debconf as an administration tool
> > > Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 15:50:16 -0700
> > >
> > > As far as I understand this, not having investigated in great depth:
> > >
> > > 1. Debconf can configure most anything that is set up by a Debian
> > > package to the point that it works. But some more detailed configuration
> > > is not done through it.
> > > 2. Debconf is database driven. The default database is a flat file, but
> > > others can be substituted.
> > > 3. Debconf works with graphical and textual front-ends. Web front-ends
> > > may be possible.
> > > 4. Debconf is internationalized.
> > > 5. Debconf is currently set up to administer one system at a time.
> > > Currently it doesn't do clusters.
> > > 6. Some Debian developers have resisted making Debconf into more of a
> > > generalized system configuration tool, for reasons unclear to me.
> > >
> > > I would hope that any configuration tool we standardize upon could drive
> > > debconf.
David Nusinow <david_nusinow@verizon.net> wrote and Zenaan Harkness forwarded
> I originally wrote configure-debian for this purpose. Unfortunately, lack of
> time and interest from others has prevented it from becoming anything more than
> a simple frontend to dpkg-reconfigure. In addition, the current codebase has
> issues with the Gnome debconf frontend, so I'm planning a rewrite based on the
> recent tasksel rewrite. The main issue is the vast amount of specific
> configuration scripts that need to be written for each app, and that is
> something I just don't have the time to achieve on my own. If anyone is
> interested in working together to carry this out though, I'd be happy to help.
debconf-gnome appears to have suffered a similar fate. But
perhaps it is something to build on.
-- Tony Godshall
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