Propersel for standerd configuration system.
Although this is really a broader issue than just linux or debian
I thought I would present it to you guys and girls first.
One of the major problems with unix is that, for new users,
it is a bear to configure.
I was thinking about this this afternoon an an idea struck me
on a great way to solve this problem: A standard confutation system.
Part of the problem with this is that every program has their own
format for the configuration files. This idea would solve that
problem for ever.
It would consist of these parts:
- A server back end which would manage the master and users
registry of configuration
- A server/watchdog that will manage the translation of the
registry to the old fashion configuration files. It will
also watch the configuration files for changes and update the
registry appropriately
- An easy to use API in C, C++, Perl, Java, Sh, and just about
another other language that a unix program or script can be
written in.
- A command line based front end to manage the registry
- A ncurses based front end to manage the registry
- A X based front end to manage the registry
The actual data will be store in a binary format that is specific
to the server. However the server will be able to export and import
configurations in a standard text based format.
The layout of the registry will be similar to Microsoft's windows
registry however it will be far more powerful.
Configurations will be stored with key/value pairs which will then
be stored under a sub category which will be stored under another
sub category etc....
There will also be a template data file which will contain information
about how the configuration should look like such as: what keys are
valid
under a subcategory, what subcategories are under a certain
subcategory,
and what format the key's value should look like.
The template data will also contain a detailed description of what
exactly a
certain subcatagory is and what each of the key/value pairs under it do.
It will also contain information that will warn the user if he/she is
modifying something which should really be modified by some other
utility.
Also, the template data file will contain event information. These
events
will tell the server what else it has to doing the event that data was
modified. Events can include information such as:
- restarted a demean
- updating the old fashion configuration file
- running a program to modify system resources based on the new
configuration (such as mounted drives, etc.)
So what do you think of this idea?
If people think it is worthwhile of pursing I will work on a formal
draft
standard which will lay things out in more detail than this.
--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-devel-request@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org
Reply to: