F8devel - user configuration storage locations

[David Timms]

Arthur Pemberton wrote:
> On 6/13/07, David Timms <dtimms at iinet.net.au> wrote:
>> A potential goal for Fedora:
>> Cleanup user settings configuration
>>
>> For a long time applications creates a {hidden} .mysetting file in the
>> user's home directory, if multiple config/settings under a
>> .myapp/.various files.
> 
> I would hate this
That is the already the current state of play -or do I misread you ?

>> I think this should be tidied up by creating a single directory at the
>> users home folder to store all setting/configs that apps make.
>> - The folder should not be hidden.
> 
> I would hate this even more
Is this hate directed toward the visibility, or to the idea of having 
all settings in a subfolder of the user's home dir  ?

>> - It should have a default text file indicating that it contains hidden
>> files that store settings for installed applications.
> 
> why?
1. So newsers know what it is and why it is there.
2. So newsers don't try to erase it.

>> - It should be well named: configuration | config | application_config ?
> 
> seems unnecessary
To name it well ? Or to even have such a structure ?

>> - All packages to use this folder
> 
> good luck with that
For all I know this location is just some system call, environment 
variable or something - does your experience show this would in fact 
require individual adjustment of each app ?

>> I see some problems:
>> - breaks FHStandard ?
>> - every app would need to have a one time adjustment and package 
>> rebuilt ?
> 
> You make that sound trivial
Only because I haven't the foggiest what it would involve.

>> Some advantages:
>> - not mixing user data folders and application config in the same top
>> level {user home} folder.
> 
> I guess that's based on your point of view. These are user specific
> configurations, which I consider to be part of my user data
To some extent I would agree: eg thunderbird config and email storage 
are linked.

> 
>> - less files to read / show / search when apps ask for the home dir file
>> list
> 
> I'm sorry if Gnome's dialog shows you everything by default, 
> but some of us use KDE, and it doesn't do that, so that's a non-issue
No nautilus / gnome dialogs don't by default, I happen to set it this 
way. It is how I realized there is just so much crap stored in the user 
home folder.

Mine has over 2000 files. About 14 directories and 50 are files I put 
there. Then there is 77 .folders and remainder what seems to be .config 
files for various apps, and temp files of some sort:
.serverauth.2268 and similar dating back 8+ months.
Perhaps there should be more adherence to using the /tmp folder, or a 
new special users/tmp folder that gets cleared each time the machine is 
booted, or the user logged in ?

>> - easily move/copy all user configs to backup or a different machine
> 
> cp -a ~/.*
How do you do that in KDE, if it doesn't show the files ? Would you be 
able to configure a .textconfigfile from the filesystem viewer ? Would a 
newser be able to work it out without guidance ?

I realize that these ideas are probably so adverse to age-old unix ways 
that it may not be possible to actually change it for existing apps ?

DaveT.