Requirements and pre-analysis for a cross desktop configuration infrastructure

[Avery Pennarun]

On Mon, Mar 21, 2005 at 10:50:53AM +0100, Philip Van Hoof wrote:

> In the document that I've posted you can find a section about the
> possibility to backup and restore configurations using the standard API
> (not just a commandline tool). Once that API is available, it's trivial
> to create a commandline tool like the one you're proposing. Or even
> trivial to create an SVN or CVS plugin (for an editor or IDE) that can
> handle crazy types of configuration-situations and that can provide a
> deep integration of source-control systems with this configuration
> system.
> 
> But important to know is that the source-control system is detached from
> the configuration-system itself. It's by creating dumps and merging
> changes that you "connect" the source-control system with the
> "configuration system". They aren't nor should be more tightly
> integrated for they serve both a totally different purpose. 

I agree that an .ini-style file isn't perfect for this.  XML wouldn't be
much good either.  What you really want is a file designed specifically for
version control; the best way would be something like this:

/full/path/to/key = value

Where each key is entirely self-contained on one line, and all keys are (at
least when the file is auto-generated) sorted alphabetically.  That way
CVS/etc will have no trouble doing merges between versions.

<record mode="broken">UniConf can already save/load your gconf and other
settings in a format like this.</record>

Have fun,

Avery