--exclude vs --filter

[Roland]

Hello,

i have a backup script where i first used "--exclude-from" only. users
of my script can set exclude statements in backup client specific
property files.

later on, i needed to extend the script because of special requirement ,
so i needed to introduce usage of "--filter='merge $filterfile'"

i want to harmonize things and simplify the script, as i needed to
duplicate statements because of that and it looks ugly and is difficult
to maintain.

can "--filter" statements completely replace "--exclude" statements ,
i.e. is "--filter" simply to be considered as an "--exclude on steriods"
, or are there chances that i need "--exclude" though ?  (for excample
because rule evaluation may differ ?)

regards
roland