Project deconf isn’t per definition implementing a replacement for existing systems like KConfig nor GConf. In fact do these systems work and don’t need a replacement.
Project deconf is about first specifying and then building infrastructure for futuristic computing environments. I foresee that most of the really used Information Technology will become embedded in specialized devices.
Take for example the iPod, cellphones, VoIP phones, personal data assistants, navigation assistance, digital television, printers that don’t need a desktop and soon instance messaging and video conferencing hardware. I have to conclude: Most people hate desktop computing. A lot people love the technology that it created. It’s not surprising Steve Jobs is again pioneering it with the iPod.
The focus of deconf (which will probably be renamed a few more times) is specifying and then building infrastructure that will survive and be useful in such a future computing environment. So this basically means that there’s a focus on distributed configuration management, on keeping the requirements small and most importantly, making every piece of technology replaceable.
Anyway. As a lot people hate it when you talk about configuration management and as I don’t really care about those people (and I certainly don’t want to spark yet another flamewar about it). Here’s what I really wanted to blog about.
By the way, I know I should cut my introductions.
As David was so smart to join a discussion about configuration management, I decided to for one evening put aside my work on tinymail and improve that funny specification of mine.
I actually even renamed it from A standard for desktop application configuration to A standard for user software configuration. It’s a much better description of what the specification is about. It’s about user software. Not just desktop applications.
I’m done, you guys can now continue calling things vaporware, flaming about configuration management and blocking innovation happening from the free software camps. So that soon, when Apple or Microsoft decide to do implement it, you can all start whining about how they should make that open. So that we can catch up, again.