Yes, It would be simpler to have a set of config files rather than multiple installs(x2 or more space)
Now how can you compare the two config files to minimize space and hassle...... the easiest way......hmmmmmmm????????
What mean you by config files or the need to compare them?
I'm going to take a small leap here and presume that you have not used http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1142151-rel-mtes4-manager/ - if you have forgive me - because then I'm not understanding you. If you haven't and I'm reading your post the way I think I am then it seems as though what I'm asking is not being understood. So let me take this opportunity to describe that better.
Having multiple install friendly Wrye Bash would not need to depend on
one Wrye Bash install that would then manage multiple installs and that by some inner commands within bash one would switch the game clones and juggle all that.
no no - that would be the wrong approach and would actually make matters much worse.
What mTES4Manager does is create clones of your:
1. Main Oblivion install folder (that contains the exe and the data folder - and importantly the Mopy folder).
2. The Oblivion save game folder (contains saves - including all the profiled saves created from Wrye Bash).
3. The Oblivion AppData folder (that contains the plugins.txt file - telling the game what plugins are active).
It then clusters these clones and syncs them up so that if you switch from Clone A to Clone B the related 3 directories are also switched into place. All done by simply renaming folders.
This means that each clone has to have its own install of each tool (Wrye Bash, OBMM, Tes4edit, gecko and whatever else). This is actually ideal as it then allows you to have on one install a certain version of a tool and on another a different one - good for OBSE testing). This works flawlessly with most of the tools as most of the data they need to access is within those three directories. So Gecko needs to see the AppData folder and find the data folder under Oblivion - fine which ever clone is active will provide that. When you run TEs4edit a similar thing happens as all the information it needs is swapped out with each clone being made active.
So each install/clone has its own set of tools. This works and well - except for Wrye Bash which has the installers.dat file located in the Oblivion Mods (or where ever you assign the BAIN directory) it is the information that is not within those three areas described above and not local to each potential install (clone) it is instead married to the BAIN directory and as such in order to have an installers.dat file for each install one needs an entire BAIN directory for each install. That gets expensive in terms of disc space.
If this installers.dat file were divorced from the BAIN directory and stored in the save game directory (ideal) or in the Mopy directory even (or even settable to anywhere via an ini setting) then one could have one BAIN archive and depending upon what each clone reads from the installers.dat file it would then read and access the BAIN archive (Oblivion Mods/Bash Installers) differently with each clone (installers.dat file).
Where hidden archives (Bash mod data) goes would likely need to be addressed by also making those locations related to the three areas above. mTES4Manager works with Oblivion, F3, and FNV already. Not morrowind but there are similar programs for it - and my bet is that they too would benefit from this.
Trying to have Wrye Bash as an independent program that does not switch or remains separate from the clones switching yet tracks them is, I think, a bad idea - and again maybe I misunderstand. It really seems to be about just changing the locations of where certain files are read and stored. So the suggestion is not to have bash track clone switching - the suggestion is just to divorce the installers.dat file and the hidden folders from the BAIN archive. Let mTES4Manager handle the rest.
An update to the system would require users of the older scheme to back up certain folders - which could be easy as just installing the new would not remove the old. But yeah I'd expect a thread of complaints.
It seems simple to me anyway. Gaticus' proposals were posted back in Oct-Nov 2010 in bash threads.I'd think mod makers would love this idea - then they could have a modding clone with their data folder just so and bare except for what they are working on - and then another folder to play with or test their mods in the mix).