Config-file markup idea, R'ingFC

From: Everett Ender (supergiantpotato_at_yahoo.co.jp)
Date: 07/30/03

  • Next message: Trevor: "RE: Config-file markup idea, R'ingFC" 
    To: redhat-list@redhat.com
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 01:26:16 +0900 (JST)

    I've been considering the effort that RedHat is putting
    into GUI-based configuration utilities, and the process
    could be considerably streamlined if there were some way
    of writing just one configuration utility and having it
    understand all the configuration files. This would be, in
    effect, a configuration browser. How to facilitiate this
    though...

    It certainly cannot be one huge program that takes every
    single configuration file in the UNIXish world into
    account within the actual code. And on the other hand we
    cannot help but piss of the majority of old school,
    hard-corps, command-line savants if we alter the UNIX
    configuration concept so much that it only makes sense
    from the GUI...

    So how about a config-file markup language, a sort of
    CFML? To not interfere with the original config file
    format, it could exist only in extra comment lines within
    the config file itself, and nothing would really be
    changed. Just a few additional, otherwise ignored lines
    prefacing each system-read entry. These mark-ups would
    simply tell the configuration browser how to display its
    data, what type of selections/postions/buttons/sliders to
    use for what, etc, and perhaps even guide it to a
    secondary
    comment/help/explanation-for-people-like-my-mother file
    that would, to the user, be an integrated help system
    pertaining to whatever they are configuring.

    How many times have newer users (such as myself) toyed
    with config settings merely to see what they do and if we
    could actually find what we were looking for? Yes, the
    settings are well-documented in comment lines within the
    config files themselves -- which is great for people who
    know where the config files live and happen to know enough
    about command-line administration to not be afraid of
    playing around in that dark and creepy world -- but not
    very useful for your average "I want to click this and
    have it do what its supposed to do" user.

    These non-command-line users are exactly who RedHat (and
    more broadly, the open-source community as a whole) must
    target and cater to if they wish to really make any
    serious attempts to win over the public. Nobody wants to
    learn advanced Linux admin skills just so they can buy
    Tribes2 for $30 and not buy WinXP for $200. They want to
    read a little advice pop-up, see that some config setting
    has "(recommended)" written beside it, click those, and
    have things happen as they are supposed to, and usually
    do, happen in the Windows world.

    That's where that $200 goes in the minds of the WinXP user
    who went to the trouble to compare RedHat and WinXP and
    chose WinXP because they didn't want to have to learn
    anything new or join a discussion group or a LUG or
    experience the support of the Linux community first-hand.
    One-click functionality. We have got to catch up there.

    Any further ideas or comments? I think it is simply
    inefficient to be developing a new configuration
    application every time you want to GUI-ize some deeply
    system-related behaviour. This is, without any doubt,
    exactly where Windows and OSX are kicking RedHat squarely
    in the ass with the average user... which sucks... because
    people like me want to see RedHat become the norm for home
    desktops so we can share all the cool free stuff with our
    friends and spur better and broader game development.

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  • Next message: Trevor: "RE: Config-file markup idea, R'ingFC"