[Paraview] Paraview 3.6.x connection definition files

[Rick Angelini]

I have questions regarding the use of connection definition files.   

I have created numerous connection definition files for various clusters 
and compute systems that we have here.     Up until now, I've been 
distributing those pvsc files through a common directory that all of my 
users have access to.   They manually load the pvsc files into their 
session, and those server definitions get automatically saved into 
$HOME/.config/ParaView/servers.pvsc.         The connection definition 
files work great and are a huge time saver for Paraview users - 
particularly in an environment where we need to establish SSH tunnels, 
modify ports and connection IDs, etc.

The problem lies in what happens when I want to change one or more of 
those pvsc files (presumably to incorporate a change that will improve 
functionality, performance, etc 8-)     I update the pvsc file in the 
common directory, and then I need to notify all of my Paraview users 
that there's an update to the PVSC files and that they need to 
delete/replace their existing definition with a new one.   This scenario 
is awkward and requires some effort on the users' part - it would be 
nice if there were a more automatic solution.

So, I've been looking at using a default_servers.pvsc file which in 
theory is a great idea.   All users would have access to a common pvsc 
file that I can control and update as necessary, with no updates 
required by the user.   Well, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to really 
work that way.    The default_servers.pvsc file is read in the first 
time ParaView is loaded, and then those server definitions are saved 
back to the $HOME/.config/ParaView directory.  The servers are 
presumably saved off to preserve some of the information as defined in 
the PVSC file - I have numerous fields (UserID, ProjectID, SSH 
executable labeled with "save=true" so that that information is carried 
over between sessions.

This is where we start to run into problems.     According to the WIKI, 
the last server definition loaded take precedence, so if I make changes 
to the "default_servers.pvsc" file,  it gets loaded prior to 
"$HOME/.config/ParaView/servers.pvsc".     Unless I'm missing something, 
once the server definitions are initialized the first time they are 
recognized and saved off to the user's .config directory, the default 
servers will never have precedence, even if I change/update the 
contents.  Unless the ServerName is changed for each subsequent update 
of a particular server, any updated server in the default servers file 
won't be loaded.    Am I on the right track here - have I missed or 
assumed something that I shouldn't have?    It looks like all of the 
hooks are *almost* there to manage the server definitions .....

Also, using 3.6.1, I went through the process of created a 
default_servers.pvsc, having those servers automatically loaded in my 
ParaView session, and then have them saved off into a local servers.pvsc 
file.  However, during the next Paraview session, the definitions don't 
work properly - it seems as those the only the last item in an  
enumerated list are available through the GUI, and in general it just 
doesn't work correctly.   If those same server definitions are loaded 
manually by the user and saved locally,  they work fine.  So, there's 
apparently an issue related to the use of the default_servers.pvsc and 
how those definitions are saved out to the user's server.pvsc file.