samba 4: a new configuration system?

[Raymond Lillard]

Tim Potter wrote:
> On Wed, 2005-06-22 at 23:41 +0200, Sebastien Estienne wrote:
>>I was wondering if samba 4 will have a different configuration file
>>format, maybe something with  an Api to ease writing configuration
>>gui.
> 
> 
> I don't think that issue has been resolved yet but I am guessing that if
> the configuration file format is changed it will involved ldb somehow.

I hope not.  I realize I am "old school", and I fully realize
I am NOT a decision maker here, but dammit what's so bloody
wrong about flat text files that can be modified with "vi" or
*emacs*?  We don't need to turn Samba in *)&$^%& windows.

Text files are well established as the Unix way of doing things.
I've had my fill of system configuration databases that become
corrupted and have to be rebuilt.  It's the same bullshit as
the windows registry and we all know the sorry mess it is.
Wouldn't we all like to have back our wasted time caused by it.

I realize some Samba systems must support hundreds, even thousands
of user accounts, so for those installations, LDAP or something
like it becomes necessary.  The Samba configuration base will
never be so large and if it does, something will have gone
horribly wrong.

Regularize the syntax all you want, even something like BIND,
but please leave it as text.

I'm not arguing against GUIs, that ship has sailed.  I'm merely
lobbying that the configuration file to be stored as human
readable text when GUI changes are committed.

Regards,
Ray