Re: system-config-dns?

[Dag Wieers <dag wieers com>]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2005, John Summerfied wrote:

> Shane Stixrud wrote:
> > On Sat, 23 Jul 2005, John Summerfied wrote:
> > 
> > > 
> > > I don't see that what I describe is so different from what webmin does.
> > > The specific objections to webmin I've seen here I can understand because
> > > I've used webmin and looked at bits of its code, but those objections
> > > don't make the basic idea unsound.
> > 
> > 
> > Sure, the basic idea of a central system and service manage interface is
> > sound.  The problem is creating one on Linux/unix is lost cause due to the
> > way Linux and Linux applications/services depend on flat files, where each
> > and every service/application has a different syntax and layout.
> 
> I'm talking about a configuration management tool that provides a framework,
> and API, to which specific tools can be written.
> 
> Like xinetd, it doesn't need to know anything about the files they use: it
> merely needs to know how to start them (and possibly have an authentication
> step in it).
> 
> xinetd is told by the sysadmin (or packager) how to start stuff by describing
> it in /etc/xinetd.conf or /etc/xinetd.conf
> > 
> > Webmin nor any tool like it will ever truly hide/fix this problem.  When
> > someone can write a simple tool (gconf-editor like) that can detect the
> > available configurable options for any/all system components then these
> > problems are easily solvable. Writing a user interface for managing the
> > system becomes a question of layout and user presentation and not an epic
> > battle against a wild un-tamable beast called /etc where every option and
> > formating style ever thought of must be hard coded into a single management
> > application.
> 
> I am not talking about a tool that configures everything; I'm talking about a
> means of integrating individual tools that each configure a specific package
> or function.
> 
> 
> The problem _I_ see is finding what needs to be configured. Sometimes, there
> is new stuff I haven't seen before. Sometimes, configuration files move (eg
> bind got chrooted at some point). Sometimes (often) a new version of a package
> has new functions added that many sysadmins don't notice because they keep
> configuring stuff the same way they always did. Sometimes, stuff gets
> deprecated and there's a newer (better?) way to do things.
> 
> 
> Suppose I could connect via ssh to server.office.lan and type
> # setup
> and then get a (mouse-sensitive & hotkey-aware) selection which might include
> software installation
> software configuration
> hardware installation
> hardware configuration
> 
> Under software configuration there might be
> system servers (apache, mail etc)
> system support (bind, mDNS etc)
> user stuff (xorg)
> 
> I'm just thinking as I type, and these are illustrative.
> 
> The menu would be built from what is installed, and be based on what _I_ can
> touch.

You definitely need to start programming :) We don't need just thinkers, 
most of all we need doers !

Kind regards,
--   dag wieers,  dag wieers com,  http://dag.wieers.com/   --
[all I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power]