Re: lynx-dev suggested addition to lynx.cfg

[Vlad Harchev]

On Mon, 12 Jul 1999, Klaus Weide wrote:

> I suggest the following be added at the end of lynx.cfg:
> 
> # If an installation or distribution uses a (properly modified) copy
> # of this file as a system-wide default, but wants to allow all users
> # to override or extend settings given here (without restriction) in an
> # optional user-specific configuration file, the following convention
> # is recommended for Unix-like systems: enable the following INCLUDE.
> # Do NOT name the user-specific file .lynxrc, since that name is already
> # used for personal preferences saved from the 'o'ptions menu.
> # Note that some settings will act in a cumulative manner if present both
> # here and in an included file, e.g. PRINTER,DOWNLOADER,UPLOADER,RULE.
> #
> #INCLUDE:~/.lynx.cfg
> 
> 
> The point of recommending a specific name is to prevent different
> linux distributions (or similar packagers) from inventing different,
> incompatible conventions; I don't really care what the suggested
> name is.

 Can you give any examples of incompatible conventions used by different linux
distributions (what is meant by 'convention')? With what are they incompatible?
Is this a technical or philosophical problem? Does it hurts anybody? (I used
only RH and nothing else, so I have no experience with other distributions).
It seems to me that packagers tweak only STARTFILE setting to point to some
local html file, and everything else is unchanged.

 IMO this proposal breaks several traditions (eg 2 different configuration
files for in one directory for one software package, but agree that 2nd file 
is allowed not to exist). 

 A question: if at startup lynx finds lynx.cfg in the HOME
directory, does it opens this file (and not opens site-wide file)?
 Also lynx uses $LYNX_CFG environment variable for the location of lynx.cfg
file. 
 - I asked that question because it seems to me that:
* lynx power users ignore disrtibution's lynx.cfg completely and use their
  own lynx.cfg file (by setting $LYNX_CFG to somewhere in their home). (so
  proposed change won't affect them)
* other users don't even know that lynx has configuration file anywhere (or
  even that lynx exist) - so the proposed change won't make any effect on
  them.

IMO we should start README.packager (IMO better to have it at the top of
tree) file and describe there what are recommended switches to configure, what
are recommended default lynx.cfg settings - in 'for impatient' manner - this
will help packagers a lot.

> Comments?
> 
>     Klaus
> 

 Best regards,
  -Vlad