Is this the right mental model?

https://excalidraw.com/#json=6046113987559424,vRbRcIOzjmY8hSZL-uSy7w

yes

I think this overall makes sense - interested in more eyes on this for sure though.

woah nice work on the comments - thats really nice. I would like @prha / @schrockn to also take a pass, mostly for opinion on the design choices highlighted in summary.

would there be a universe in which we would need (or want) to support both:

{'solids': {'composite_a.composite_b.solid_c': {...}}}

and

{'solids': {'composite_a': {'solids': {'composite_b': {'solids': {'solid_c': {...}}}}}}}

I have a hard time reconciling a mental model that makes sense for subsetting in to a composite where maintaining the original config structure makes sense. I agree that this is a gnarly user experience - but I think its because subsetting in to a composite is fundamentally complex and that complexity is accurately exposed to the user. I think maintaining the config structure will mask the complexity causing greater confusion.

If somebody has a mental model that feels right to them for keeping it consistent, it would be great if you could update the drawing in the comment above to help communicate it.

Just for the avoidance of doubt, I agree with Alex and I think this is clearer and more consistent than the alternative

met to discuss this - @schrockn was able to help outline how using the dotted notation for all composite config (subselected or not) instead of the hierarchal structure or a hybrid would make sense. The example of vscode settings helps us believe this as likely a better end user experience.

Action items:

• gather some early feedback from users on the proposed change
• a separate RFC for migrating the current system to this approach and the necessary amount of back compat