Original From: "Jim Starkey" <jas@...>

> Unix until the Unix world recognizes the need for a registry
> equivalent (or somebody tells me that Unix has had one for five
> years and I'm just to ignorant to recognize it).

This won't be a Linu{s,x} lead innovation based on recent discussions by the
Linux kernel gurus. Linus seems dead-set on moving away from binary
representations of all configuration structures to representations that are
decipherable and editable using simple text viewing/editing tools (in the
interest of scripting system configuration, amongst other things).

That argument rages on no doubt, however for something as simple as
Interbase config info it seems like a waste to hide this away in some turgid
registry and potentially split the development of management scripts etc
down a Unix/Windows line.

I'd hate another "data format fiasco" to hit users when they try to move
their IB install from Unix to Windows or vice versa only to discover that
they are conforonted with a whole new monster to tame.

If a design goal of a product is to be truly cross-platform then sometimes
one has to accept the common denominators. Not doing so only causes grief.

Cheers
Adam Clarke