Re: configuration files

[Dave Leimbach <leimySPAM2k@xxxxxxx>]

Jeroen Ruigrok/asmodai <asmodai@xxxxxx> writes:

> Also, going XML in this case means you have to convert all the shell
> scripts into either tools or using tools in the scripts to interpret the
> XML files to get the values you need.  Using the key/value pairs as in
> rc.conf at the moment we have the advantage of just sourcing them in and
> treating them as variables.

Not really.  

<script>
$!/bin/sh
. ..
</script>

I know you can't source them like you do regular files but I think
an appropriate XPath query could grab out the scripts you want.

Don't ask me which tools can let you do this... I have no idea :)

I just don't think the answer is cut and dry here... there are lots
of choices.

> 
> >I've been on several projects where it was decided to use name/value 
> >pairs rather than xml because it was "simpler".  At first this was true. 
> > But then we needed entries to have multiple values, so we added a bit 
> >of parsing for comma separated values.  Then we needed a way to group 
> >multiple entries, so we created "meta-entries".  Before long, the format 
> >was just as complicated as if we had used xml, and not nearly as well 
> >defined.  I think this is a common occurrence as the tendency is for a 
> >tool to grow more complex than initially intended.
> 
> Yes, but those projects most likely had configuration schemes way more
> intricate than what rc.conf has.  At least that's how you make it sound.
> Please correct me if wrong.
> 
> I would love to see some more concrete ideas about why XML would be
> useful for DragonFly.  I want to hear/see some pure advantages I haven't
> thought of. I don't care about other projects.  Sorry if that
> sounds harsh.
> 

Sure... DragonFly is the system at hand... we need to focus :).

I can't think of any reason XML is better than what we have aside from
making it possibly easier to support some sort of easy to configure 
front-end for newbies to go with an installation system.  That way
if the formats changed in the future you wouldn't have to rewrite
the whole installation system... you know... The X part of XML 
eXtensibility :)

Dave


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> Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven <asmodai(at)wxs.nl> / asmodai / kita no mono
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