Where to store configurations ?

This irc session just had to cause a posting :)

(11:01:26) somedude: hmm.. I have to say... someapp is very nice
(11:01:34) somedude: extremely easy configuration
(11:01:50) somedude: everything can be edited by the webgui
(11:04:53) somedude: hmm... everything is stored in a database

Aahrrrr... so when you want to deploy it you have either to start a browser and configure it or replicate content from a database by means of scripting sql so that it behaves as if you entered it from a web interface. Off course the latter method means that you first have to figure out which content it stores in which tables for which actions.

It's perfectly ok to create a webinterface for people to config your application, but please make it so that configurations can be scripted straightforward. Preferrably by just editing a file.

There's nothing worse than being able to deploy a whole infrastructure hands off in less than an hour, then having to spend 2 days clicking on webinterfaces for the stuff you couldn't automate and then not being able to reproduce that afterwards. Just because somebody tought it would be nice to store his configs in some obscure binary file format only accessible from the web interface.