Re: includes inside squid.conf

On Tue, 2 Apr 2002, Henrik Nordstrom wrote:

> And even simpler is not to have includes at all, and refer to a god
> pre-processor if one wants includes..
> ...
> After careful consideration I think I will withdraw my support for
> include files outside what we already have.

There is one primary reason to have internal support for #includes: an
ability to provide/exchange configuration files in a ready-to-use,
portable way. For example, Squid Web site can have a collection of
"useful" configuration bits that folks can download and use; This
collection can use #includes to reduce code duplication. Squid
documentation can clearly explain how to #include an ACL file.

Yes, M4 and numerous other text processors can do the job of
preprocessing files. However, none of them can be selected as
"standard" for Squid. Only internal preprocessor can. A standard is
needed to facilitate documentation and exchange of information.

I would not even be surprised to see default squid.conf broken into
several #included files once we have a preprocessor. Want transparent
configuration for WCCP? Start by including standard "wccp.cfg". Etc.
etc.

> And as we have already outlined several common cases where the
> "simple and stupid" built-in include capability won't be sufficient,
> I see little point of having it whe we can get a full fledged one at
> a lower cost for Squid.

No single capability can be sufficient for all cases. A simple
internal preprocessor facilitates documentation and exchange of
information. I think that is a big enough reason for supporting
#includes.

Alex.
Received on Tue Apr 02 2002 - 07:59:39 MST