One of the things that sets ACS apart from other systems is it assumes a database and pretty much puts everything into it. I would prefer even the code was in the database but currently that's a bit difficult. Files are easier to move around, the database is better for storage, relations and updating.
The tcl functions listed above are interesting. What I'd like to see also is ::putxml and ::getxml for objects. That would make it easier to transport objects via xml and files (or http) and still allow for creating the initial objects via xml and files. I think this would solve what I see as some of the current conflict in ACS. It wants to be a dynamic system that allows users to add attributes to object via a web interface and everything automagically works, yet nothing quite works that way because the initial overhead is high because there is no way to easily create the objects required and transport them around.
