config files (was Re: hdparm.conf)

[Toby Kelsey]

Chanchao wrote:

> Very often when configuring stuff in Linux, it involves opening a config
> file that already includes loads of settings, but some, most, or all of
> them have been 'commented out' using #-characters.  You can then select
> the settings you need by removing the # character using a text editor. 
> 
> All of this is the result of lazyness on the part of the developer(s)
> who didn't bother to program a basic screen or wizard to configure
> things. Furthermore, they even convinced themselves that config files
> are a Good Thing!   As yet, they haven't convince me though.

There is always a need for site-specific configuration.  Config files
should remain simple user-editable text files for ease of system
administration, and commented-out options are a useful form of documentation.

Having said that, since many config files follow a similar format and
commmenting convention, there's nothing stopping someone developing a GUI
configurator which updates config files and treats single-# comments as
options to be enabled and double-# comments as descriptions.

To segue into another thread, this might make a nice project for someone
who's learning Python.

Cheers,
Toby