Re: [SLUG] DNS BIND: what's happen....?

[Thom May <thom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

* Jamie Honan (jhonan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) wrote :
> 
> Thom:
> 
> I imagine one problem is that there are many config formats.
> This pales into insignificance compared to the "rules" problem.
> 
> Each config file is a mini set of expert or functional programming
> rules, that has to be consistent with what the target program
> expects. Hand editing -> in the editors head, augmented by feedback
> from log files, frightening for newbies. GUI editing -> simplified, dumbed 
> down interface that we all hate :)

One point on that:
If alchemist/anaconda whatever the hell it's called is able to write config
files for various programs such as bind, dhcp, printcap, whatever, then by
definition it _has_ to know about what the config format is. So why can't it
read the file straight as well as writing it?

[snip]
> >The other really _REALLY_ bad thing about all this is that distro's
> >which _force_ their users to use GUI tools(as redhat seem to be doing by
> >default 
> ...
> >are training those same users to be entirely dependent on
> >GUIs
> 
> They are responding to what they percieve as the demands of users. 
> New users, not Unix/Linux gurus.
> 
> They are doing it badly, but I have no doubt they see themselves
> as filling a need, not the other way round.

Sure. I understand why Red Hat have done it, I just sincerely disagree with
the implementation. 
And really, they should provide good enough documentation that users can
easily migrate to command line and config file editting in the fullness of
time. But that's another rant altogether.
[snip some stuff that looks good but I need to think about]
-Thom