XML Configuration of FMS and Customization

An observation about the configuration files (XML) of FMS.

When we roll out new versions or upgrades, it almost always involves updating or modifying the files in the conf/ directory.  If it's within a certain revision, we generally copy them over from the previous install and it's fine.  In the case of FMS 3.5, new configuration directives were added which necessitated our doing a fresh reconfigure to ensure everything was accounted for.

What I believe would make for an easier configuration process is to utilize the inheretance aspect of XML, allowing for a LocalSettings.xml file which would be read in by FMS last, overriding any default settings thus eliminating the need to alter the default *.xml files.  Any new settings introduced that require changes can be imported as needed.

Overwriting the stock conf/*.xml files with new information would not interfere with your custom settings as they would remain intact in LocalSettings.xml.  Any conflicts could be reported to the logs or stdout.

One exception being fms.ini -- which could easily be revamped into XML and used in the above model.