Programming the Virtual Infrastructure

Over the past few years, there seems to have been growing demand for practical system configuration tools but depressingly little progress. The recent arrival of machines seems only to have increased the difficulties, as well as the need. However, the programmable nature of these virtual of infrastructures made me wonder whether there was anything to be learned from the corresponding development of programming languages for the early computer. It seems that there are some very interesting analogies, but in the end, the problem might be suficciently different that a good solutionis not likelyto be avaible for some time.