At 11:45 AM 5/1/00 -0600, you wrote:

>At 03:22 AM 5/2/00 +1000, you wrote:
>>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.
>
>Just my $.02.

And my $.02 as XML fan. XML has all advantages of TXT files listed below +
it is structured, self-describing, flexible and simply very good fit for
things like storing configuration and inter-application data exchange.

>I prefer the txt/ini file scenario to a registry for the following reasons.
>
>1) Text ini files can be commented. This really helps me out when there
>are different options for some setting. Also you can include tips and
>warnings in the configuration file.
>2) You can place the ini file on some network drive and have everybody
>point to it. Then by making a change to one centralized file all the
>clients become aware of it. If you stick with a registry each client needs
>to have the registry changed which is much bigger pain.
>3) Text files can be easily backed up by standard backup utilities.
>Registries need to be backed up special.
>4) Text files can be manipulated by standard tools like perl, awk etc and
>these can be scripted to run from CRON jobs.
>5) Its very easy to attach a text file when you are asking for support.
>6) text files are very easy to grep and list when you want to do a quick
>check on a setting.
>7) You can make changes to a text file from a telnet/ssh session when you
>are managing systems remotely.
>8) Text files can be manipulated vie CGI scripts so you can build web front
>ends to software.
>
>I am sure there are many more reasons but these I find I use most often.