Re: XML as a standard UNIX config file format (Re: Caldera installation - something Debian should learn)
Hi,
> On Fri, Apr 23, 1999 at 02:57:07PM -0000, Robert Woodcock wrote:
> > UNIX *badly* needs a common config file format, and we might as well start
> > now.
> Why? The config formats of the different unix config files is used because
> different application needs different information structures.
That's why you'd use different DTD's...
> Hu? What is the difference between a Tag <myname> and a tag M: if you enter
> both with a config program?
If you use XML you only need _one_ standard library which is able to parse
it and pass it to the program. The program doesn't need to implement it's
own parser for it's own proprietary file format.
> An XML PArser is very heavy wighted and I dont see a Reason for it. Each
> config file will still have different strucutres and tag names which you
> have to learn. Personally I prefer a /etc/hosts with 3 columns over an XML
> file with a lot of nesed tags I cant work on with grep or shell tools.
It doesn't need to be slow... okay... the library would be big... but you
can wait about 500ms to read a config file once a week if you reconfigure
your sendmail, procmail, or others...
You _can_ grep in xml files... because you can write the tags on _one_
line... but I think you don't need to grep in /etc/hosts...
cu
gerhard
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