implementation of file-related modules

[Wolfgang Thaller]

> I like the idea of type safety, but the configuration strings are
> probably still useful for some things.  How might this look?
>
> - A constant CONFDIR (#ifdef'd into the implementations) telling where
>   to find configuration files (a kind of bootstrapping)

What are those config strings really for?
File path delimiters aren't something that should have to be specified 
in a separate "config file".
As a long-time Mac user and victim of Apple's brainwashing, I hate 
config files, so I'm always sceptical about proposed schemes of config 
files. (Of course, I don't want to veto anything, I just want to 
dissuade people from inventing config file schemes "just in case we 
need them one day").

Cheers,

Wolfgang