Any easy app and system settings deployment tools?

[Redsandro]

I have two different workplaces, and two computers at home. Every time I have something set up to my liking, I want to have it on both work computers, both home computers, or all four. Although it's reasonably easy to copy some files from home to Ubuntu One or Dropbox, files appear in a lot more places than I initially thought. Sometimes the dot-app directory is merely a crumb, and you can find scattered settings in the following locations:

~/.someApp
~/.cache/someApp <- we can probably ignore this
~/.config/someApp
~/.gconf/apps/someApp
~/.local/share/someApp

Does this make some kind of sense? If I understand the logic behind this, it will get easier to remember.

Anyway, I am looking for a way to 'pack' settings for specific programs in a file, and deploy them easily on other computers. If it was just ~/.someApp, I could gzip it. But I have to look everywhere and pack a bunch of gzips. Not to mention I have to extract each of them in place when deploying. Surely I am not the only one wishing to do this faster. Is there a specific tool for this?

It would already be easier if I could pack/gzip a random set of (sub)directories in one go. A multiselect that doesn't forget the selection when going into a directory, and gzip it relative to home. I could extract the relative directories for home, config, local and whatever I need to my new home.

That's just the beginning though. For example, IDE Eclipse stores files here and there, but ideally I want to deploy system settings with my Eclipse settings. This includes setting up a webserver if it's not already installed, adding modules and debugging to httpd.conf and php.ini, changing modules-enabled and sites-enabled, adding hosts to /etc/hosts...

Is there a specific tool for this? That will add lines to files unless they already exist?

Could also be handy for your home computer or htpc, and for new versions of linux when we all do a clean install and have to change everything we have forgotten where after 6 months of peace. You'd might have to figure out about /etc/init.d/someApp-daemon followed by the mandatory dance with chmod +x update-rc.d all over again.

You will have forgotten about the changes to /etc/init.d/rc and /etc/rc.lolcal. About your favorite power options in /etc/sysctl.conf

Is there some way to gather your stuff in a file or package or trick, and apply them easily?

Short of writing a shellscript, that is. I was hoping for something simpler, managable and possibly specific to the task. Something that somebody else already invented.