[Open-graphics] protocol, file format, and library for PCI analyzer

[Peter Lund]

On Sun, 2007-01-14 at 08:38 +0000, Peter TB Brett wrote:

> > If it needs to go to a file (and not be a set of gconf settings), please
> > make it a simple KEY=VALUE format.
> >
> > My preference is to use gconf (or whatever one the KDE equivalent is).
> >
> 
> GConf is evil.  KDE uses plain text files: look in $HOME/.kde/share/config

gconf is not evil and it does offer features over what a plain text file
can offer.

It is also the native and proper way for a gnome program.

A KDE program, however, would naturally do it differently.

Neither would work directly at the level of plain text files.  A library
(+ possibly a daemon) would translate the high-level configuration API
to text file manipulations or to XML file manipulations or possible LDAP
manipulations.

I seem to be the one who currently has code that is closest to
completion for this. That code is a gnome program (using cairo for nice,
anti-aliased drawing).  You and Nick are free to write a KDE program.  

The parser + data manipulation code is nicely isolated and planned to
become a standalone library anyway.  Should be easy to wrap in the KDE
style and I would welcome patches for just that.  The code is GPL v2.

http://vax64.dk/b%c3%b8lge/

A completely freestanding program written from scratch without any ties
to gnome or KDE would naturally use straigth UTF-8 directly in KEY=VALUE
text files.  However, I don't foresee anybody writing such a program.

-Peter