Smart config file parsing

[Cliff Wells]

On Thu, 2008-06-12 at 13:40 -0700, Michael Jennings wrote:
> On Thursday, 12 June 2008, at 10:12:39 (-0700),
> Grant McWilliams wrote:
> 
> > So this wouldn't help in getting us closer to this
> > 
> > mirrorlist=
> > http://mirrorlist.centos.org/?release=$releasever&arch=$basearch&repo=contrib
> > 
> > or is it just not the best way of doing it? I'm sure variables could be
> > accomodated for without ConfigParser.
> 
> You don't need variables.  Think about it:  when was the last time you
> needed to alter those values ($releasever and $basearch) on an
> existing system?

I have to alter them every single time I install a system.  I copy the
values from the YUM config and find/replace all the variables.  Not a
huge task, but a task nonetheless.

Because Smart and YUM use the same repositories, being able to use the
same syntax to describe those repositories makes sense.

> The only real reason to use variables there is so that the config file
> itself can pass between systems, which is really a case of
> poor/improper management and/or lazy packaging.

And also so you can do things like edit /etc/fedora-release and do an
update/upgrade without needing to edit all the config files for
smart/yum.

> Those "variables" should be set by the package at build/install time
> and left alone.

That's certainly a matter of opinion.  I don't think this feature is
critical, but it's certainly been requested enough and would make a few
things more convenient.

Regards,
Cliff