Config file management utility

[Joe Emenaker <jemenake@mail.cob.calpoly.edu>]

Has much discussion been had about a possible configuration file
management script for the package config scripts to use?

For example, I installed cron on a Debian box, and then installed mgetty.
Mgetty placed the following at the end of my /etc/crontab:

  #-- mgetty begin 
  20,40 * * * *   root faxrunq
  #-- mgetty end

Then, when I updated cron, it asked if I wanted to replace my
/etc/crontab. I'm assuming that this would have hosed my mgetty settings,
so I was forced to make the changes to /etc/crontab by hand. 

So, I was thinking... why not have a utility that the scripts would use to
make all modifications to config files.... kinda like what mgetty did with
the "#-- mgetty begin" and "#-- mgetty end"? The only difference is that
*all* packages (even the package that "owns" a particular config file)
would be encouraged to use the utility. In the example, cron would use the
utility to make updates to /etc/crontab, as /etc/crontab would ostensibly
have "#-- cron begin" and "#-- cron end" statements as well.

Of course, the utility would have to have command switches to alter what
comment character to use... whether the file could be deleted if it was
empty (after removing a section, say)....

Has this already been discussed and thrown out?

- Joe



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