linux registry (no, not that again!)

[Michael Favia]

I hope everyone can agree that the etc situation is coming to a head. 
And that we would benefit from a "uniform configuration format" (UCF) to 
ease the development of new GUI based configuration tools and simplify 
and standardize the format of existing file formats. Currently you can't 
manually edit most of these files if you use a GUI editor because of its 
inability to parse these documents lucidly (and understandably so). I 
suggest the development and optional adoption of a service that writes 
and stores these configuration files and manages the etc in an automated 
and lucid fashion. The xml based schema will allow hand editing of the 
xml files at any time but will most likely require a manual reread of 
thechanges after hand editing (acceptable because of the advanced 
operation of hand editing). Such a system of management can and should 
provide a distribution and desktop environment independent method of 
managing ALL configuration information (system-wide (etc) and userlevel 
(~/)).

If there is sincere interest i will be happy to compose a first draft or 
scour the web for a jumping off point and adapt it to our 
specifications. I will slap up a wiki and we can collectively develop 
the standards over the next few weeks. I think that such a development 
will single handedly improve the ease of development and usability of 
linux on the desktop and in the data center. This isnt an overly 
complicated initiative and from what i can tell and its necessity and 
improvements will far outweigh the development effort.

Recap:
I am proposing the development of a document that sets out a 
distribution and desktop indepentent standardized method of system-wide 
and user based configueration information storage including the location 
of the files and the format of their contents.

Best Wishes,
Michael Favia
Insites Incorporated