Silly little me...

Peter wrote:

GNOME's configuration system is a bunch of text files that you can edit in vi. Yes, text files. They're XML, and human-readable. GOOD.

XML's OK for configuration files, even though if edited in raw form all those bloody angle brackets will drive you batty. But where the hell is everything?

My desktop system (a laptop) has Galeon, Abiword, and gnumeric on it, which I value on their merits without particularly caring whether or not their maintainers consider them "part of GNOME". So, it might be nice to be able to find and adjust their configurations, system-wide, inside my home directory, or both.

OK, how 'bout /etc/abiword/abiword.rc and ~/.abiword.rc? No such luck. /etc/gnumeric/gnumeric.rc and ~/.gnumeric.rc? Fat chance. How about using locate?


rick@guido:~$ locate gnumeric | more
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autocorrect
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autocorrect/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autoformat
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autoformat/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/defaultfont
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/defaultfont/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/history
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/history/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/save
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/save/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/editing
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/editing/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/screen
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/screen/%gconf.xml
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/window
/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/window/%gconf.xml
[...]

What the frell? Why would Gnumeric's settings be stashed under those for GConf? Furthermore, what's with the nine levels deep of subdirectories? Jeezux. It's just a furshlugginer conf file!

Furthermore, where in my home directory am I expected to make a local copy of this mess? ~/.gnumeric/ ? Nope, that would be far too logical. Turns out there's some contraption called ~/.gnome/Gnumeric, which is not an XML file, but rather something like a messy MS-Windows .INI file. But is that where I store my local Gnumeric preferences? I have no clue.

Am I supposed to "cp -a" that entire /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric tree to somewhere in my home directory? Maybe, but heavens knows where. And there are about eighty files in that tree. Eighty! My well-tuned .vimrc is a single, easily understood file of 59 lines.

I'm sorry, but that's not progress, it's not good design, and it's just basically not acceptable.

GNOME can basically kiss my shiny metal ass. Give me real configuration files.

Rick Moen
rick@linuxmafia.com

Post #114,003 by folkert 8/16/03 6:14:13 PM Reply	Silly little me... I never in a million years woulda guessed this: in any gecko based browser (as far I have been able to test) `about:config` You can change any value to what you want it to be. GAH... IF only had known. -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] [insert witty saying here]
Post #114,010 by kmself 8/16/03 7:27:42 PM Reply	in any gecko based browser -- about:config --\r\n Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n [link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n [link\|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/\|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n \r\n Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n
Post #114,123 by boxley 8/17/03 9:39:16 PM Reply	:-) America, Love it or give it back questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #114,586 by Yendor 8/20/03 2:30:29 PM Reply	Couldn't find User Agent string... -YendorMike [link\|http://www.hope-ride.org/\|http://www.hope-ride.org/]
Post #114,618 by kmself 8/20/03 5:38:04 PM 8/20/03 5:38:37 PM Reply	Because in their Infinite Wizdumb, GNOME have ... ...reinvented that bane of computer configuration: the Registry. \r\n\r\n The solution is (as noted [link\|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/UserAgentString#How_to_set_user_agent\|TWikIWeThey]) use gconf-editor. \r\n\r\n This is one of many, many reasons I detest GNOME. Neat ideas, but some really fucked up ones to boot. --\r\n Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n [link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n [link\|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/\|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n \r\n Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n Edited by kmself Aug. 20, 2003, 05:38:37 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #114,688 by pwhysall 8/21/03 3:12:06 AM Reply	Re: Because in their Infinite Wizdumb, GNOME have ... No they fucking haven't. Jeez, Karsten, you know better than to just leap in without doing a little research. The registry is a collection of binary files, containing such horrors as GUIDs, classes and all sorts of nasty things. BAD. GNOME's configuration system is a bunch of text files that you can edit in vi. Yes, text files. They're XML, and human-readable. GOOD. "Ooh ooh I detest GNOME because it doesn't appeal to my l33titude!" <- how this kind of thing comes off Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog]
Post #119,774 by rickmoen 10/2/03 2:58:22 AM Reply	Feh. Peter wrote: GNOME's configuration system is a bunch of text files that you can edit in vi. Yes, text files. They're XML, and human-readable. GOOD. XML's OK for configuration files, even though if edited in raw form all those bloody angle brackets will drive you batty. But where the hell is everything? My desktop system (a laptop) has Galeon, Abiword, and gnumeric on it, which I value on their merits without particularly caring whether or not their maintainers consider them "part of GNOME". So, it might be nice to be able to find and adjust their configurations, system-wide, inside my home directory, or both. OK, how 'bout /etc/abiword/abiword.rc and ~/.abiword.rc? No such luck. /etc/gnumeric/gnumeric.rc and ~/.gnumeric.rc? Fat chance. How about using locate? rick@guido:~$ locate gnumeric \| more /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autocorrect /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autocorrect/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autoformat /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/autoformat/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/defaultfont /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/defaultfont/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/history /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/history/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/save /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/file/save/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/editing /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/editing/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/screen /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/screen/%gconf.xml /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/window /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric/core/gui/window/%gconf.xml [...] What the frell? Why would Gnumeric's settings be stashed under those for GConf? Furthermore, what's with the nine levels deep of subdirectories? Jeezux. It's just a furshlugginer conf file! Furthermore, where in my home directory am I expected to make a local copy of this mess? ~/.gnumeric/ ? Nope, that would be far too logical. Turns out there's some contraption called ~/.gnome/Gnumeric, which is not an XML file, but rather something like a messy MS-Windows .INI file. But is that where I store my local Gnumeric preferences? I have no clue. Am I supposed to "cp -a" that entire /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnumeric tree to somewhere in my home directory? Maybe, but heavens knows where. And there are about eighty files in that tree. Eighty! My well-tuned .vimrc is a single, easily understood file of 59 lines. I'm sorry, but that's not progress, it's not good design, and it's just basically not acceptable. GNOME can basically kiss my shiny metal ass. Give me real configuration files. Rick Moen rick@linuxmafia.com If you lived here, you'd be $HOME already.

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