The XML configuration format provides a consistent file structure, which is easier to learn and remember when attempting to configure a new system.
Using XML, you can eliminate (nearly) all of the configuration file parsing and error handling - an external XML parser can do that instead - (especially if it is a validating parser). To make sure the control file is well-formatted and that the syntax is valid, you can run the control file through a validating parser before it is actually used for automatic installation. This is especially required if you prefer to edit the profile manually.
The following example shows a control file in XML format:
Example 2.1. XML Control File (Profile)
<?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE profile SYSTEM "/usr/share/autoinstall/dtd/profile.dtd"> <profile xmlns="http://www.suse.com/1.0/yast2ns" xmlns:config="http://www.suse.com/1.0/configns"> <install> <!-- install is deprecated since SUSE Linux 10.0 --> <partitioning config:type="list"> <drive> <device>/dev/hda</device> <partitions config:type="list"> <partition> <filesystem config:type="symbol">ext2</filesystem> <size>520Mb</size> <mount>/</mount> </partition> <partition> <filesystem config:type="symbol">reiser</filesystem> <size>1200Mb</size> <mount>/data</mount> </partition> </partitions> </drive> </partitioning> </install> <!-- install is deprecated since SUSE Linux 10.0 --> <configure> <!-- configure is deprecated since SUSE Linux 10.0 --> <scripts> <pre-scripts> <script> <interpreter>shell</interpreter> <filename>start.sh</filename> <source> <![CDATA[ #!/bin/sh echo "Starting installation" exit 0 ]]> </source> </script> </pre-scripts> </scripts> </configure> <!-- configure is deprecated since SUSE Linux 10.0 --> </profile>