Gconf, Dconf, Gsettings and the relationship between them












61















I'm trying to understand how Gconf, Dconf and Gsettings works and what the relationship is between them.



All I know is:





  • Gconf - XML based database (backend system). The older one.


  • Dconf - BLOB based database (backend system). The newer one.


  • Gsettings - CLI tool to edit settings. Looks like it works only with Dconf (although I saw somewhere that it might work with Gconf).


I know that for Gconf there is a GUI - Gconf-editor, and for Dconf - Dconf-editor.



So:




  1. Which backend system is more often used - Dconf or Gconf?

  2. Gsettings works with both of them? And why doesn't it show all Dconf schemas?

  3. Where does Dconf save its data?










share|improve this question

























  • I would be particularly interested in which settings are handled by which tool (dconf or gsettings) and why there are differences?

    – Johsm
    Sep 21 '15 at 15:06
















61















I'm trying to understand how Gconf, Dconf and Gsettings works and what the relationship is between them.



All I know is:





  • Gconf - XML based database (backend system). The older one.


  • Dconf - BLOB based database (backend system). The newer one.


  • Gsettings - CLI tool to edit settings. Looks like it works only with Dconf (although I saw somewhere that it might work with Gconf).


I know that for Gconf there is a GUI - Gconf-editor, and for Dconf - Dconf-editor.



So:




  1. Which backend system is more often used - Dconf or Gconf?

  2. Gsettings works with both of them? And why doesn't it show all Dconf schemas?

  3. Where does Dconf save its data?










share|improve this question

























  • I would be particularly interested in which settings are handled by which tool (dconf or gsettings) and why there are differences?

    – Johsm
    Sep 21 '15 at 15:06














61












61








61


22






I'm trying to understand how Gconf, Dconf and Gsettings works and what the relationship is between them.



All I know is:





  • Gconf - XML based database (backend system). The older one.


  • Dconf - BLOB based database (backend system). The newer one.


  • Gsettings - CLI tool to edit settings. Looks like it works only with Dconf (although I saw somewhere that it might work with Gconf).


I know that for Gconf there is a GUI - Gconf-editor, and for Dconf - Dconf-editor.



So:




  1. Which backend system is more often used - Dconf or Gconf?

  2. Gsettings works with both of them? And why doesn't it show all Dconf schemas?

  3. Where does Dconf save its data?










share|improve this question
















I'm trying to understand how Gconf, Dconf and Gsettings works and what the relationship is between them.



All I know is:





  • Gconf - XML based database (backend system). The older one.


  • Dconf - BLOB based database (backend system). The newer one.


  • Gsettings - CLI tool to edit settings. Looks like it works only with Dconf (although I saw somewhere that it might work with Gconf).


I know that for Gconf there is a GUI - Gconf-editor, and for Dconf - Dconf-editor.



So:




  1. Which backend system is more often used - Dconf or Gconf?

  2. Gsettings works with both of them? And why doesn't it show all Dconf schemas?

  3. Where does Dconf save its data?







gconf dconf gsettings






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited May 6 '14 at 14:05









Braiam

51.6k20136220




51.6k20136220










asked Jan 31 '13 at 16:11









idgaridgar

1,33062026




1,33062026













  • I would be particularly interested in which settings are handled by which tool (dconf or gsettings) and why there are differences?

    – Johsm
    Sep 21 '15 at 15:06



















  • I would be particularly interested in which settings are handled by which tool (dconf or gsettings) and why there are differences?

    – Johsm
    Sep 21 '15 at 15:06

















I would be particularly interested in which settings are handled by which tool (dconf or gsettings) and why there are differences?

– Johsm
Sep 21 '15 at 15:06





I would be particularly interested in which settings are handled by which tool (dconf or gsettings) and why there are differences?

– Johsm
Sep 21 '15 at 15:06










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















33














GConf is obsolete. It is the older GNOME 2.x configuration API and system, and has been replaced by DConf/GSettings in newer versions. However, some applications still use it.



GSettings is a GLib implementation of DConf, which stores its data in a binary database.



The gsettings command line tool is simply a tool to access or modify settings via the GSettings API, in the same way that the older gconftool command line tool is for GConf.






share|improve this answer
























  • Is GSettings works with GConf also?

    – idgar
    Jan 31 '13 at 18:05






  • 2





    No, GSettings is an implementation of the DConf spec. The command line tool doesn't work with gconf. There are however, some compatibility layers currently in use on Ubuntu, where changing a setting in gsettings or gconf, will result in the change being propagated to the other. This isn't common though, and not something to rely on.

    – dobey
    Jan 31 '13 at 18:39











  • another thing,i saw somewhere that GSettings works with configuration files. is there something about it? and why does GSettings doesn't show the same schemas as DConf-editor?

    – idgar
    Feb 3 '13 at 14:30






  • 1





    The interesting part to know would be which settings are managed by which tool? The keys which are present when using dconf or dconf-editor are different from those accessible with gsettings, for example there is a key /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus accessible via dconf but there is no equivalent key accessible via gsettings in Ubuntu 15.04.

    – Johsm
    Sep 21 '15 at 15:04






  • 1





    @dobey: thank you for helping with this. What I am really after is though: how does the mapping between the key I have to use in dconf and the key I have to use with gsettings work? If I know one, is there an algorithmic way to find the other? In my concrete case I was given /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus -- now how would I find the appropriate key for gsettings? If both use the same underlying data, should there not be a logical mapping? Or am I still missing something?

    – Johsm
    Sep 23 '15 at 11:52



















38














Dconf is a data store designed for storing configuration. It is the replacement for Gconf, which was used for the same purpose. Eventually, no programs should depend on Gconf any more.



Gsettings is a development library used to read and write to a configuration store backend. On Linux, it uses Dconf, but on Windows, it uses the registry, and on OS X, it uses a native data store.



Application developers and end-users are recommended to use Gsettings, not Dconf directly.



See also:




  • What are the differences between gconf and dconf?

  • Can I use dconf-editor to modify Gconf settings?

  • GSettingsMigration on gnome.org






share|improve this answer

























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    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

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    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    33














    GConf is obsolete. It is the older GNOME 2.x configuration API and system, and has been replaced by DConf/GSettings in newer versions. However, some applications still use it.



    GSettings is a GLib implementation of DConf, which stores its data in a binary database.



    The gsettings command line tool is simply a tool to access or modify settings via the GSettings API, in the same way that the older gconftool command line tool is for GConf.






    share|improve this answer
























    • Is GSettings works with GConf also?

      – idgar
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:05






    • 2





      No, GSettings is an implementation of the DConf spec. The command line tool doesn't work with gconf. There are however, some compatibility layers currently in use on Ubuntu, where changing a setting in gsettings or gconf, will result in the change being propagated to the other. This isn't common though, and not something to rely on.

      – dobey
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:39











    • another thing,i saw somewhere that GSettings works with configuration files. is there something about it? and why does GSettings doesn't show the same schemas as DConf-editor?

      – idgar
      Feb 3 '13 at 14:30






    • 1





      The interesting part to know would be which settings are managed by which tool? The keys which are present when using dconf or dconf-editor are different from those accessible with gsettings, for example there is a key /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus accessible via dconf but there is no equivalent key accessible via gsettings in Ubuntu 15.04.

      – Johsm
      Sep 21 '15 at 15:04






    • 1





      @dobey: thank you for helping with this. What I am really after is though: how does the mapping between the key I have to use in dconf and the key I have to use with gsettings work? If I know one, is there an algorithmic way to find the other? In my concrete case I was given /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus -- now how would I find the appropriate key for gsettings? If both use the same underlying data, should there not be a logical mapping? Or am I still missing something?

      – Johsm
      Sep 23 '15 at 11:52
















    33














    GConf is obsolete. It is the older GNOME 2.x configuration API and system, and has been replaced by DConf/GSettings in newer versions. However, some applications still use it.



    GSettings is a GLib implementation of DConf, which stores its data in a binary database.



    The gsettings command line tool is simply a tool to access or modify settings via the GSettings API, in the same way that the older gconftool command line tool is for GConf.






    share|improve this answer
























    • Is GSettings works with GConf also?

      – idgar
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:05






    • 2





      No, GSettings is an implementation of the DConf spec. The command line tool doesn't work with gconf. There are however, some compatibility layers currently in use on Ubuntu, where changing a setting in gsettings or gconf, will result in the change being propagated to the other. This isn't common though, and not something to rely on.

      – dobey
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:39











    • another thing,i saw somewhere that GSettings works with configuration files. is there something about it? and why does GSettings doesn't show the same schemas as DConf-editor?

      – idgar
      Feb 3 '13 at 14:30






    • 1





      The interesting part to know would be which settings are managed by which tool? The keys which are present when using dconf or dconf-editor are different from those accessible with gsettings, for example there is a key /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus accessible via dconf but there is no equivalent key accessible via gsettings in Ubuntu 15.04.

      – Johsm
      Sep 21 '15 at 15:04






    • 1





      @dobey: thank you for helping with this. What I am really after is though: how does the mapping between the key I have to use in dconf and the key I have to use with gsettings work? If I know one, is there an algorithmic way to find the other? In my concrete case I was given /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus -- now how would I find the appropriate key for gsettings? If both use the same underlying data, should there not be a logical mapping? Or am I still missing something?

      – Johsm
      Sep 23 '15 at 11:52














    33












    33








    33







    GConf is obsolete. It is the older GNOME 2.x configuration API and system, and has been replaced by DConf/GSettings in newer versions. However, some applications still use it.



    GSettings is a GLib implementation of DConf, which stores its data in a binary database.



    The gsettings command line tool is simply a tool to access or modify settings via the GSettings API, in the same way that the older gconftool command line tool is for GConf.






    share|improve this answer













    GConf is obsolete. It is the older GNOME 2.x configuration API and system, and has been replaced by DConf/GSettings in newer versions. However, some applications still use it.



    GSettings is a GLib implementation of DConf, which stores its data in a binary database.



    The gsettings command line tool is simply a tool to access or modify settings via the GSettings API, in the same way that the older gconftool command line tool is for GConf.







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered Jan 31 '13 at 17:16









    dobeydobey

    32.6k33586




    32.6k33586













    • Is GSettings works with GConf also?

      – idgar
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:05






    • 2





      No, GSettings is an implementation of the DConf spec. The command line tool doesn't work with gconf. There are however, some compatibility layers currently in use on Ubuntu, where changing a setting in gsettings or gconf, will result in the change being propagated to the other. This isn't common though, and not something to rely on.

      – dobey
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:39











    • another thing,i saw somewhere that GSettings works with configuration files. is there something about it? and why does GSettings doesn't show the same schemas as DConf-editor?

      – idgar
      Feb 3 '13 at 14:30






    • 1





      The interesting part to know would be which settings are managed by which tool? The keys which are present when using dconf or dconf-editor are different from those accessible with gsettings, for example there is a key /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus accessible via dconf but there is no equivalent key accessible via gsettings in Ubuntu 15.04.

      – Johsm
      Sep 21 '15 at 15:04






    • 1





      @dobey: thank you for helping with this. What I am really after is though: how does the mapping between the key I have to use in dconf and the key I have to use with gsettings work? If I know one, is there an algorithmic way to find the other? In my concrete case I was given /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus -- now how would I find the appropriate key for gsettings? If both use the same underlying data, should there not be a logical mapping? Or am I still missing something?

      – Johsm
      Sep 23 '15 at 11:52



















    • Is GSettings works with GConf also?

      – idgar
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:05






    • 2





      No, GSettings is an implementation of the DConf spec. The command line tool doesn't work with gconf. There are however, some compatibility layers currently in use on Ubuntu, where changing a setting in gsettings or gconf, will result in the change being propagated to the other. This isn't common though, and not something to rely on.

      – dobey
      Jan 31 '13 at 18:39











    • another thing,i saw somewhere that GSettings works with configuration files. is there something about it? and why does GSettings doesn't show the same schemas as DConf-editor?

      – idgar
      Feb 3 '13 at 14:30






    • 1





      The interesting part to know would be which settings are managed by which tool? The keys which are present when using dconf or dconf-editor are different from those accessible with gsettings, for example there is a key /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus accessible via dconf but there is no equivalent key accessible via gsettings in Ubuntu 15.04.

      – Johsm
      Sep 21 '15 at 15:04






    • 1





      @dobey: thank you for helping with this. What I am really after is though: how does the mapping between the key I have to use in dconf and the key I have to use with gsettings work? If I know one, is there an algorithmic way to find the other? In my concrete case I was given /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus -- now how would I find the appropriate key for gsettings? If both use the same underlying data, should there not be a logical mapping? Or am I still missing something?

      – Johsm
      Sep 23 '15 at 11:52

















    Is GSettings works with GConf also?

    – idgar
    Jan 31 '13 at 18:05





    Is GSettings works with GConf also?

    – idgar
    Jan 31 '13 at 18:05




    2




    2





    No, GSettings is an implementation of the DConf spec. The command line tool doesn't work with gconf. There are however, some compatibility layers currently in use on Ubuntu, where changing a setting in gsettings or gconf, will result in the change being propagated to the other. This isn't common though, and not something to rely on.

    – dobey
    Jan 31 '13 at 18:39





    No, GSettings is an implementation of the DConf spec. The command line tool doesn't work with gconf. There are however, some compatibility layers currently in use on Ubuntu, where changing a setting in gsettings or gconf, will result in the change being propagated to the other. This isn't common though, and not something to rely on.

    – dobey
    Jan 31 '13 at 18:39













    another thing,i saw somewhere that GSettings works with configuration files. is there something about it? and why does GSettings doesn't show the same schemas as DConf-editor?

    – idgar
    Feb 3 '13 at 14:30





    another thing,i saw somewhere that GSettings works with configuration files. is there something about it? and why does GSettings doesn't show the same schemas as DConf-editor?

    – idgar
    Feb 3 '13 at 14:30




    1




    1





    The interesting part to know would be which settings are managed by which tool? The keys which are present when using dconf or dconf-editor are different from those accessible with gsettings, for example there is a key /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus accessible via dconf but there is no equivalent key accessible via gsettings in Ubuntu 15.04.

    – Johsm
    Sep 21 '15 at 15:04





    The interesting part to know would be which settings are managed by which tool? The keys which are present when using dconf or dconf-editor are different from those accessible with gsettings, for example there is a key /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus accessible via dconf but there is no equivalent key accessible via gsettings in Ubuntu 15.04.

    – Johsm
    Sep 21 '15 at 15:04




    1




    1





    @dobey: thank you for helping with this. What I am really after is though: how does the mapping between the key I have to use in dconf and the key I have to use with gsettings work? If I know one, is there an algorithmic way to find the other? In my concrete case I was given /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus -- now how would I find the appropriate key for gsettings? If both use the same underlying data, should there not be a logical mapping? Or am I still missing something?

    – Johsm
    Sep 23 '15 at 11:52





    @dobey: thank you for helping with this. What I am really after is though: how does the mapping between the key I have to use in dconf and the key I have to use with gsettings work? If I know one, is there an algorithmic way to find the other? In my concrete case I was given /com/canonical/unity/always-show-menus -- now how would I find the appropriate key for gsettings? If both use the same underlying data, should there not be a logical mapping? Or am I still missing something?

    – Johsm
    Sep 23 '15 at 11:52













    38














    Dconf is a data store designed for storing configuration. It is the replacement for Gconf, which was used for the same purpose. Eventually, no programs should depend on Gconf any more.



    Gsettings is a development library used to read and write to a configuration store backend. On Linux, it uses Dconf, but on Windows, it uses the registry, and on OS X, it uses a native data store.



    Application developers and end-users are recommended to use Gsettings, not Dconf directly.



    See also:




    • What are the differences between gconf and dconf?

    • Can I use dconf-editor to modify Gconf settings?

    • GSettingsMigration on gnome.org






    share|improve this answer






























      38














      Dconf is a data store designed for storing configuration. It is the replacement for Gconf, which was used for the same purpose. Eventually, no programs should depend on Gconf any more.



      Gsettings is a development library used to read and write to a configuration store backend. On Linux, it uses Dconf, but on Windows, it uses the registry, and on OS X, it uses a native data store.



      Application developers and end-users are recommended to use Gsettings, not Dconf directly.



      See also:




      • What are the differences between gconf and dconf?

      • Can I use dconf-editor to modify Gconf settings?

      • GSettingsMigration on gnome.org






      share|improve this answer




























        38












        38








        38







        Dconf is a data store designed for storing configuration. It is the replacement for Gconf, which was used for the same purpose. Eventually, no programs should depend on Gconf any more.



        Gsettings is a development library used to read and write to a configuration store backend. On Linux, it uses Dconf, but on Windows, it uses the registry, and on OS X, it uses a native data store.



        Application developers and end-users are recommended to use Gsettings, not Dconf directly.



        See also:




        • What are the differences between gconf and dconf?

        • Can I use dconf-editor to modify Gconf settings?

        • GSettingsMigration on gnome.org






        share|improve this answer















        Dconf is a data store designed for storing configuration. It is the replacement for Gconf, which was used for the same purpose. Eventually, no programs should depend on Gconf any more.



        Gsettings is a development library used to read and write to a configuration store backend. On Linux, it uses Dconf, but on Windows, it uses the registry, and on OS X, it uses a native data store.



        Application developers and end-users are recommended to use Gsettings, not Dconf directly.



        See also:




        • What are the differences between gconf and dconf?

        • Can I use dconf-editor to modify Gconf settings?

        • GSettingsMigration on gnome.org







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited Jan 12 at 19:51









        Pablo Bianchi

        2,4451530




        2,4451530










        answered Jan 31 '13 at 17:31









        FlimmFlimm

        21.2k1562120




        21.2k1562120






























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