sane config files [was [sane-devel] Infrared channel]]

[Oliver Rauch]

Hello.

I do not understand the discussion about the sane config file format.

In a usual/normal case the config file of a backend should not be
touched by a user or configuration program:
- We do not need to enter any device files because the sanei_* routines
search the devices and passes them to the backend.
- The position of a firmware file should be defined by a rule like a
path prefix and the backend an device name, e.g.
  /pathto_foo/sane/firmware/umax/astra1220u.firmware
- The backend knows what devices it does support. It is dangerous when
you tell the backend to handle an unknown device as an already known
device. You can break the scanner with a bad setup.
When someone contacts me because he things my backend could support his
scanner then I do some tests with his help and tell him what he can
change in the config file. 

It is dangerous when a setup program or an unexperienced user is
changing the config file. For supported scanners it generally is not
necessary to change anything in the config file.

I suggest to discuss how we can make the sane-backends work without any
config file changes. The first versions of SANE did work out of the box
for supported devices. There is no need for tweaking config files. 

We have to define how a backend can find a firmware file and how a setup
program does now where to put a firmware version. There is no need to
change any config files for this reason.

Oliver