X configuration paradigm, and a proposal

[Sean Middleditch]

On Sun, 2004-11-07 at 17:03 -0300, Avi Alkalay wrote:
> Currently is not easy to configure an X server. You have to know the
> xorg.conf configuration file format, and know what to put there.
> 
> So when you buy a new commodity video card, the manufacturer have to
> ask you to edit xorg.conf manually (when he asks...), instead of
> shipping together some program that makes the new configuration
> automatically. I think this happens because the manufacturer doesn't
> want to write an xorg.conf file parser and an editor to insert its
> textual piece in the global configuration file.
> 
> Same for monitors, multi-monitor desktops, special mice, modules,
> screen resolutions (1024x768, 800x600) etc. Everything have to be done
> by hand, or entirely regenerated by some distro-specific script, which
> also makes you loose manually-edited stuff.
> 
> The proposal is to upgrade the way X handles configuration (human
> readable xorg.conf) to some hierarchy of configuration atoms
> represented by key-value pairs. Something similar to GConf, but not
> GConf because this one is not available when X needs to read its
> configurations.
> 
> A key-value pair paradigm will let a video device installer change
> preciselly only the configuration atoms vital to him. The same for a
> monitor, mouse, modules, filepaths, etc.
> And with time, this will make X way more easier to configure, and user-friendly.

This is a poor solution to the problem.  All you are doing is making it
easier to change the configuration.  There isn't a whole lot of
difficulty with changing it now.  The reason most installers don't
automatically change the configuration has nothing to do with the
difficulty and everything to do with the fact that changing one bit may
require vast changes elsewhere.  It's not an issue of parsing, it's an
issue of logic.

A far better solution could keep the exact same configuration format we
have now, but add an xorg.conf.d/ structure sort of mechanism that lets
installers drop video card, monitor, and input device specification
files (similar in nature to HAL FDI files - perhaps actually just use
HAL...) and then the distribution's already developed, tested, and
integrated configuration tools can use the information in those files.
X server auto-configuration could also scan the files for information
allowing it to select proper configurations for the present hardware if
things like DCC/EDID don't work correctly for the present hardware.

> 
> I'd like to hear comments about this.
> 
> Regards,
> Avi
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> 
-- 
Sean Middleditch <elanthis at awesomeplay.com>
AwesomePlay Productions, Inc.