Re: [gentoo-dev] USE database?

[Mikael Hallendal <hallski@gentoo.org>]

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tor 2001-12-06 klockan 19.12 skrev Zach Forrest:
> Before using python as an example, I had actually played with the idea 
> of using XML. Any thoughts on this? I know that compared to a plain text 
> file both of these notions seem somewhat cumbersome, but there are a 
> couple of arguments for using a more structured approach. One, 
> programatically handling the data is easier. Using either python or XML 
> (and a parser) allows named access rather positional access to the 
> fields. It also makes the definition of "records" more clear and easier 
> to understand for new developers (i.e. me). It wouldn't be too difficult 
> to parse XML (even into a dictionary).

Yes, I thought about using XML too, as you say, for parsing the file
it'll be better since we don't narrow it down to python. Any language
that can parse XML (most) can be used for tools and such. 

The problem is that writing things in XML will be even harder than the
pretty clean syntax you proposed.
 
> As far as GConf is concerned, I think that the base system should have 
> as few dependencies as possible. Python is already required, and, in my 
> opinion, with its XML capabilities (or just using dictionaries) I 
> believe a solution along these lines would be preferable.

Yes, GConf is IMHO not an option today, perhaps in the future when it:
1) is more stable/tested for these kind of things.
2) has nice tools for editing the contents.

Regards,
  Mikael Hallendal
 
-- 

Mikael Hallendal
Gentoo Linux Developer, Desktop Team Leader
CodeFactory AB, Stockholm, Sweden


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