[cobalt-users] the GUI interface

[Dan Heller <argv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > > You don't change this.
> > 
> > sure you do ... and it's simple, easy and safe.
> > http://www.proftpd.net/docs/configuration.html#DefaultRoot
> > 
> Let me know if/when it breaks.  My "you don't change this", while
> simplistic, is based on the fact that you can't guarantee the gui won't
> change it back.

This statement gives me the perfect opportunity to vent:

<soapbox>

FWIW, it's "nice" that there is a gui admin tool for those that wish to
use it. However, there are several realities that will teach just about
everyone that that there's no easy shortcuts to doing real system
administration on a unix box. If you're going to take up the task,
you're going to be better off in the long run by learning how things
"really" work by understanding the command-line programs, learning to
use the man pages, and utilizing the net for information.

Granted, it doesn't *have* to be this way, but the reason it is is
because the GUI simply doesn't do everything that would need to be done
to administer a system, and certainly won't do anything to safeguard
a system, and worst of all, it won't give you the flexibility to get
real tasks done on a system. and if that weren't enough, you can't use
the GUI to build CVS or other revision-control systems to maintain your
change trees.  There are many critically important tasks that need to be
done that the GUI simply cannot do, and if you *do*, then cobalt voids
your support (or something like that). If you want to write a script
to automate anything that all, the first thing you're going to do is
realize that the GUI has been slowing you down.

I wouldn't cmplain so bitterly if it weren't for these facts:

1) Cobalt doesn't view the GUI interface as a convenience tool, or as
training wheels for those just getting started; they actually intend it
to be *the* *only* interface for doing system-administration.  This is
not only naive, but it's strategically impractical to attempt as such
an early stage in development. Perhaps, over a time they can produce
robust and flexible software that handles sys-admin tasks more fully,
they can eventually hint at making a more preferable interface tool.

The whole paradigm of UNIX is built on a set of small, independent tools
and programs that can be chained together through pipes, scripts and
other generalized methods. this is what provides flexibility, scalability,
robustness and "elegance" that a GUI-only interface can never accomplish.
Sure, it may be nice and convenient for certain tasks or certain users,
but it should never be considered as the primary interface for true
system administration. what's more, and this is most critical, is that
the GUI should never *prohibit* the use of traditional command-line
oriented administration. it should augment it.

2) Cobalt seriously discourages doing anything on the system that
is done using other-than-the-gui method. In fact, I've had their
support people tell me that they can't give me answers to questions
that can't be solved using the GUI interface.

3) The GUI will *overwrite* anything that you do on the system using
the non-gui interface.  this is really poor design and planning. 
When you startup the GUI, it should read the data that's in the files
however they got that way, whether were written by a previous
invocation of the GUI, or by some other human or process.

</soapbox>

<breathe>
Thank you.

So, to answer your question:
> Let me know if/when it breaks.  My "you don't change this", while
> simplistic, is based on the fact that you can't guarantee the gui won't
> change it back.

I will never use the gui to do anything on my system, so there's
no chance that this will ever happen.  the simple fact that I couldn't
do an important system-administration task on my machine because
the GUI doesn't support it should be reason enough to wean onesself off
of it asap.

-- 
	--dan

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