[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Idea: server autoread config files

[David Pfitzner <dwp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Reinier Post wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 29, 2000 at 08:54:50AM +0200, Piotr Sulecki wrote:
> > Ave!
> > 
> > What do you think about having a configuration file read automatically
> > by civserver upon start?
> 
> That's what the -r option is for!
>  
> > I'm thinking of some file (perhaps .civserverrc) which is read from
> > civserver's current directory, then (if it fails) from the home
> > directory of the user starting it, or finally from freeciv install dir.
> 
> I once did a patch to implement this but I'm not sure it's a good
> idea.  Unix apps suffer greatly from the 'where the hell did it get
> *that* config again' problem and one way to solve it in this case is
> not to read a config file by default at all.  civserver has problems
> with locating its the rulesets already.

It would be easy enough to make the server print out the filename of 
essentially each filename it does fopen() on, which should make things
clear to users.  (It more-or-less already does if you do "--debug 3".)  

(The "setting rulesets and not noticing bad settings until 'start'" is 
a completely separate problem IMO.)

I think .civserverrc makes sense, and I would probably use it myself.

-- David