wvdial (was: Re: [lug] config modem w/ mandrake7.2)

[J. Wayde Allen]

On Wed, 20 Jun 2001, Holshouser, David wrote:

> how about GUI configurator apps that read the config file just like the real
> app does, know about all options that the app can handle, and provide (in
> some way) a way to modify (imagine sendmail, DAMN!!!) the settings such that
> they appear to act as if they opened an editor an manipulated the files. 
> 
> As long as the syntax is correct in the config file, meaning that the real
> app can open it, then the GUI config app can read the file and you get to do
> it the way you choose. 

I like this, but one problem is that /etc doesn't have a specific set of
pre-defined config files.  It is simply a convenient place for programmers
to locate a configuration database for their software.  Trying to write
one all encompassing program that knows what to do with all of the
possible config files is probably not possible.

So ... here is a crazy idea.  How about making a graphical configuration
program that allows new programs to somehow register information about
their configuration?  

I'm not sure I'm saying this clearly, and actually haven't thought this
through very carefully so take if for what its worth.  Maybe a package
level configuration standard gets created.  This would probably be
something that the package maintainer would put together.  The idea being
that if you used apt, rpm, whatever to install this package it would also
install a graphical configuration tool that could/would register itself
with a program that would provide a common jumping off point for the
multiple GUI interfaces.  Maybe this is nothing more than a web interface,
and packages just provide a local URL link to a config form.

Maybe this is the underlying idea behind linuxconf, and/or perhaps some of
the pieces already exist in Gnome?  The difficulty is in how to do
something like this well?  I don't think we want /etc to start behaving
like the MSWindows registry for instance.

- Wayde
  (wallen at lug.boulder.co.us)