Adam previously wrote:

>>However, should some scheme be implemented, allowing m0n0wall to be
>>updated from remote locations by sending a new config.xml, there might
>>  again be a need for an easy way to prepare a number of such files
>>prior to pushing or pulling them?

Mitch (WebCob) wrote:

> I think there will be a need for this - just not sure about storage of it or
> how to manage and discern common config items across multiple units - I'm
> speaking from the theoretical side right now anyways - I don't have the time
> to play with it at the moment - I am an old hand at BSD and windows, but
> took an interest in this project because it was going in a useful
> direction...

I was thinking something along these lines:

A standalone editor, perhaps looking a bit like the m0n0wall webGUI, 
preferably able to run in any XML compatible browser (XML/XSL with aid 
from either PHP or Java for the file reading/writing), able to edit 
local and networked config.xml files (perhaps later on there could 
even be some kind of built-in FTP/HTTP functionality, allowing the 
editor to work directly with m0n0wall as well?)

The editor could then be made to support working with multiple files. 
I imagine this done by selecting which fields / sections are "common", 
allowing these to be set for all selected files at once, while other 
fields / sections would be set for each file individually (possibly 
with some "automation" aids, for quickly filling out fields with 
contigous IPs and similar).

One way to do this would be by using "templates", where all the common 
stuff can be preset, perhaps making the editor show only the fields / 
sections needing to be filled in? I guess the technology would be a 
bit like mail-merging, allowing some fields to be filled automatically 
from a file or by simple formulae (ie incrementing an IP or such), 
while others, needing to be entered manually for each file, would be 
presented to the user for editing.

All this being said, I'm afraid that I've recently been swamped with 
work, and this just after having commited myself to helping with the 
m0n0wall documentation project. It is therefore unlikely that I'll 
find the time to start working on the editor in the near future. 
Perhaps someone else, with a greater need than I for such a utility, 
will take it on..?


Adam.