Re: System configuration...

[aj facade dhs org]

You need to consider the 4086 packages in Debian, or the number in any
other large distribution.  Many package maintainers don't really want
to learn a new API when they are quite comfortable with the packages
configuration themselves.  The ideal configuration method is easy to
set up, eg. provide variable names, types and descriptions only, and
doesn't require coding or learning much.

A response to this post mentioned that this has been discussed for 
gnome/gtk before?  I'd like to see the logs, does someone remember
where?

I have been designing a very simple/high level widget independent XML
language for writing configuration dialogs.  Interfaces generated
such would access shell variable lists and gconf.  This applies to your
last point.  Yes, I am interested in writing this.  At the same time,
I don't plan to announce a design or a project until I have more time
to hack on it.

> 
> I have been thinking about the "configuration problem" with linux/unix
> systems. There are some basic problems as I see it:
> 
> 1. There are too many types of configuration files.

Bash, the lingua de system configuration, can convert a shell var list
to/from most config file types.  (Or other sh)

> 2. There ar no easy way to write gui apps for configuring different
> apsects of linux/unix system.

Yes.  Glade rocks, but it requires a tweaking and coding.

> 3. Security is not handled in a common central manner.
>
> I would like to address these problems by developing a library that can be
> used in server daemons as well as in a Gnome/KDE application. I have seen
> that someone has started something called GConf. perhaps that is a part in
> whats needed but I miss some features in the GConf library ( as it is
> described in http://developer.gnome.org/feature/current/index.html ..
> 
> Is there any interest in develop a general configuration and security
> library. The security library i meant to be a tool that verifies user
> access to different objects in the system. A such object can be the
> ability to edit the user list, acces the FTP server, or .... 
> 
> I think that this is not too complicated and can be done relatively easy.
> One goal is allso to provide a easy way to write GUIs..

Adrian Johnston