[Xastir-Dev] Thoughts on converting config to XML

[Jeff Brenton KA9VNV]

Hello Jack,

JT> The price for the benefits is extra work.  This often happens. :-)
JT> In my humble opinion, the extra work is worth the benefits.

Extra work for what benefits? Raising the bar on who CAN run Xastir?
Will Xastir be able to parse a verbose descriptive XML configuration
file faster and more efficiently than it does the current format, or
is the benefit just that it adheres to a published "standard"?

JT> Your only issue appears to be a human stuck with vi trying to make
JT> sense of a bunch of angle brackets without the faintest clue about
JT> how markup works. I like to think that the typical Xastir
JT> developer is above this level of functionality, and it's the
JT> developers who will be dealing with the trickiest bits -- adding
JT> new tags.

Should XML be adopted, AND the tools to deal with XML be put into
Xastir, the developer SHOULDN'T have to remember the tricky bits...
They'll simply have to select reasonable defaults for when their
special tags aren't found in the file, and call the XML update
functions with their new tags when it is time to save the
configuration.

Any reasonable library for manipulating the configuration file should
have no problem dealing with a non-existing file on read... B-)

However, we're expecting NON-developers to get interested in Xastir,
aren't we? Having an easily-tweaked configuration would be a big
benefit here, something programs like Mac/WinAPRS lack. (I once
suggested WinAPRS move to Windows INI format, but that was shot down
because the tools for manipulating INI files didn't exist on the Mac.
Therefore, they use a binary format that makes it difficult to migrate
an old configuration file to a newer version of the program)

JT> Here's a very useful bit: storing the default values with the tag.
JT> This way, a user who's tweaking things can quickly go back to a
JT> known good value if things break.

The default values as comments, OK. I would suggest that, if a field
is set to the program's default value, it not even be stored in the
configuration file... just the comment of WHAT the default value is,
and how to change it (i.e., syntax of the <tag>value</tag> to use).

JT> Oh, and since you're so interested in making sure the editor is
JT> sane, maybe you could write that part? :-)

I'm not a masochist, either - and I've got several paying projects I'm
behind on right now... Besides, a good XML editor should be written in
Java, and I hate Java! B-)

-- 
Best regards,
 Jeff                            mailto:ka9vnv at dididahdahdidit.com