xfconf VS libxfce4util Resource Config Files for configuration

[OmegaPhil]

I'm the maintainer of the XFCE4 Hardware Monitor Plugin [0], and I'm
currently reviewing how I maintain configuration for the plugin.

At the moment I use libxfce4util's rc file functionality, but I don't
like the separation between reading and writing when you open an rc file
(reading something and potentially writing a change based off that is a
normal thing).

xfconf appears to offer a more regular read/write approach (haven't
tried it yet), but looking into its implementation, immediately fails on
KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) - hugely bloated - XML, DBus, GObject,
probably other stuff I'm not aware of. The task is just to store and
retrieve a few bits of data into a simple text file, which is the UNIX way.

I'm aware of xfconf's ability to store more complicated data and a
hierarchy of data, but I don't need this. There is also the catch that
XFCE4 has already paid the price for the bloat, however that doesn't
dictate whether I should support it or not ('ethics').

Does anyone here have serious usage of xfconf, and can bring up good
reasons for using it over a normal configuration file?

Thanks



0:
http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/panel-plugins/xfce4-hardware-monitor-plugin

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