diff --git a/checkin_notes b/checkin_notes
index dddab61ed7..f6e1abac76 100755
--- a/checkin_notes
+++ b/checkin_notes
@@ -6511,6 +6511,7 @@ Karl 2003/10/02
 Karl 2003/10/02
     - made C parsing of config.xml more flexible (allow multiple tags per
       line or tags on multiple lines)
+    - made config.xml and run_state.xml pretty
 
     sched/
         sched_config.C
@@ -6519,3 +6520,5 @@ Karl 2003/10/02
         parse.C
         parse.h
 
+    py/
+        configxml.py
diff --git a/lib/parse.C b/lib/parse.C
index c0cd793202..0013a49aa4 100644
--- a/lib/parse.C
+++ b/lib/parse.C
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
 // Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in
 // compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
 // http://boinc.berkeley.edu/license_1.0.txt
-// 
+//
 // Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS"
 // basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
 // License for the specific language governing rights and limitations
-// under the License. 
-// 
-// The Original Code is the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing. 
-// 
+// under the License.
+//
+// The Original Code is the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing.
+//
 // The Initial Developer of the Original Code is the SETI@home project.
 // Portions created by the SETI@home project are Copyright (C) 2002
-// University of California at Berkeley. All Rights Reserved. 
-// 
+// University of California at Berkeley. All Rights Reserved.
+//
 // Contributor(s):
 //
 
@@ -74,11 +74,30 @@ bool parse_str(const char* buf, const char* tag, char* dest, int len) {
     char* p = strstr(buf, tag);
     if (!p) return false;
     p = strchr(p, '>');
-    char* q = strchr(p+1, '<');
+    ++p;
+    while (isspace(*p)) ++p;
+    char* q = strchr(p, '<');
     if (!q) return false;
+    while (isspace(*(q-1))) --q;
+    char save_q = *q;
     *q = 0;
-    safe_strncpy(dest, p+1, len);
-    *q = '<';
+    safe_strncpy(dest, p, len);
+    *q = save_q;
+    return true;
+}
+
+// parse a string of the form <tag>string</tag>
+//
+bool parse_str(const char* buf, const char* tag, string& dest) {
+    char const* p = strstr(buf, tag);
+    if (!p) return false;
+    p = strchr(p, '>');
+    ++p;
+    while (isspace(*p)) ++p;
+    char const* q = strchr(p, '<');
+    if (!q) return false;
+    while (isspace(*(q-1))) --q;
+    dest.assign(p, q-p);
     return true;
 }
 
@@ -251,7 +270,7 @@ bool extract_xml_record(const std::string &field, const char *tag, std::string &
     do {
       j=field.rfind(">",j-1);
       start_pos=field.rfind(tag,j);
-      if ((start_pos != std::string::npos) && (field[start_pos-1]!='/')) { 
+      if ((start_pos != std::string::npos) && (field[start_pos-1]!='/')) {
         start_pos=field.rfind("<",start_pos);
       } else {
 	start_pos=std::string::npos;
diff --git a/lib/parse.h b/lib/parse.h
index d9bf04f145..847670627b 100644
--- a/lib/parse.h
+++ b/lib/parse.h
@@ -2,29 +2,32 @@
 // Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in
 // compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
 // http://boinc.berkeley.edu/license_1.0.txt
-// 
+//
 // Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS"
 // basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
 // License for the specific language governing rights and limitations
-// under the License. 
-// 
-// The Original Code is the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing. 
-// 
+// under the License.
+//
+// The Original Code is the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing.
+//
 // The Initial Developer of the Original Code is the SETI@home project.
 // Portions created by the SETI@home project are Copyright (C) 2002
-// University of California at Berkeley. All Rights Reserved. 
-// 
+// University of California at Berkeley. All Rights Reserved.
+//
 // Contributor(s):
 //
 
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <cstdlib>
 #include <string>
 
+using std::string;
+
 extern bool parse(char* , char* );
 extern bool parse_int(const char* buf, const char*tag, int&);
 extern bool parse_double(const char*, const char*, double&);
 extern bool parse_str(const char*, const char*, char*, int);
+bool parse_str(const char* buf, const char* tag, string& dest);
 extern void parse_attr(const char* buf, const char* attrname, char* out, int len);
 extern bool match_tag(const char*, const char*);
 extern bool match_tag(const std::string &, const char*);
diff --git a/py/Boinc/configxml.py b/py/Boinc/configxml.py
index 4b88d0882a..540d1d6d05 100644
--- a/py/Boinc/configxml.py
+++ b/py/Boinc/configxml.py
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ class XMLConfig:
         except IOError, e:
             if not failopen_ok:
                 # raise
-                raise SystemExit("%s: Couldn't parse XML config\n%s: %s"%(sys.argv[0],sys.argv[0],e))
+                raise Exception("%s: Couldn't parse XML config\n%s: %s"%(sys.argv[0],sys.argv[0],e))
             print >>sys.stderr, "Warning:", e
             # self.xml = xml.dom.minidom.Document()
             self._init_empty_xml()
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ class XMLConfig:
         self._set_elements()
         if not output:
             output = open(self.filename,'w')
-        self.xml.writexml(output)
+        self.xml.writexml(output, "", "  ", "\n")
         print >>output
         return self
     def _set_elements(self):
diff --git a/py/Boinc/setup_project.py b/py/Boinc/setup_project.py
index 8867ad60e5..92f30c8c7b 100644
--- a/py/Boinc/setup_project.py
+++ b/py/Boinc/setup_project.py
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ def num_wus():
 def num_wus_assimilated():
     return database.Workunits.count(assimilate_state = ASSIMILATE_DONE)
 def num_wus_to_transition():
-    return database.Workunits.count(_extra_params = 'transition_time<%d'%(time.time()+30*86400))
+    return database.Workunits.count(_extra_params = ['transition_time<%d'%(time.time()+30*86400)])
 
 def build_command_line(cmd, **kwargs):
     for (key, value) in kwargs.items():
@@ -308,10 +308,11 @@ class Project:
         config.download_url  = os.path.join(config.master_url, 'download')
         config.cgi_url       = cgi_url or os.path.join(options.cgi_url, self.short_name)
         config.upload_url    = os.path.join(config.cgi_url     , 'file_upload_handler')
-        self.scheduler_url = os.path.join(config.cgi_url     , 'cgi')
         config.download_dir  = os.path.join(self.project_dir , 'download')
         config.upload_dir    = os.path.join(self.project_dir , 'upload')
         config.key_dir       = key_dir or os.path.join(self.project_dir , 'keys')
+        config.app_dir       = os.path.join(self.project_dir, 'apps')
+        self.scheduler_url = os.path.join(config.cgi_url     , 'cgi')
         self.project_php_file                  = srcdir('html_user/project.inc.sample')
         self.project_specific_prefs_php_file   = srcdir('html_user/project_specific_prefs.inc.sample')
 
diff --git a/sched/sched_config.C b/sched/sched_config.C
index 6a37923c45..046ed0c085 100644
--- a/sched/sched_config.C
+++ b/sched/sched_config.C
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@
 
 // Parse a server configuration file
 
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <string.h>
+#include <cstring>
+#include <string>
+#include <fstream>
+using std::ifstream;
 
 #include "parse.h"
 #include "error_numbers.h"
@@ -29,34 +31,38 @@
 
 const char* CONFIG_FILE = "config.xml";
 
-int SCHED_CONFIG::parse(FILE* in) {
-    char buf[256];
+inline string read_stream(istream& f) {
+    string buf;
+    buf.reserve(8192);
+    char c;
+    while (f >> c)
+        buf += c;
+    return buf;
+}
+
+int SCHED_CONFIG::parse(istream& f) {
+    string buf = read_stream(f);
 
     memset(this, 0, sizeof(SCHED_CONFIG));
-    while (fgets(buf, 256, in)) {
-        if (match_tag(buf, "</config>")) return 0;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<db_name>", db_name, sizeof(db_name))) continue;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<db_passwd>", db_passwd, sizeof(db_passwd))) continue;
-        else if (parse_int(buf, "<shmem_key>", shmem_key)) continue;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<key_dir>", key_dir, sizeof(key_dir))) continue;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<download_url>", download_url, sizeof(download_url))) continue;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<download_dir>", download_dir, sizeof(download_dir))) continue;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<upload_url>", upload_url, sizeof(upload_url))) continue;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<upload_dir>", upload_dir, sizeof(upload_dir))) continue;
-        else if (parse_str(buf, "<user_name>", user_name, sizeof(user_name))) continue;
-    }
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<db_name>", db_name, sizeof(db_name));
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<db_passwd>", db_passwd, sizeof(db_passwd));
+    parse_int(buf.c_str(), "<shmem_key>", shmem_key);
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<key_dir>", key_dir, sizeof(key_dir));
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<download_url>", download_url, sizeof(download_url));
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<download_dir>", download_dir, sizeof(download_dir));
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<upload_url>", upload_url, sizeof(upload_url));
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<upload_dir>", upload_dir, sizeof(upload_dir));
+    parse_str(buf.c_str(), "<user_name>", user_name, sizeof(user_name));
+    if (match_tag(buf.c_str(), "</config>")) return 0;
     return ERR_XML_PARSE;
 }
 
 int SCHED_CONFIG::parse_file(char* dir) {
-    FILE* f;
+    ifstream f;
     char path[256];
-    int retval;
 
     sprintf(path, "%s/%s", dir, CONFIG_FILE);
-    f = fopen(path, "r");
+    f.open(path);
     if (!f) return ERR_FOPEN;
-    retval = parse(f);
-    fclose(f);
-    return retval;
+    return parse(f);
 }
diff --git a/sched/sched_config.h b/sched/sched_config.h
index 0d868c1935..2334e5d33f 100644
--- a/sched/sched_config.h
+++ b/sched/sched_config.h
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@
 #ifndef _SCHED_CONFIG_
 #define _SCHED_CONFIG_
 
+#include <fstream>
+using std::istream;
+
 // parsed version of server configuration file
 //
 class SCHED_CONFIG {
@@ -34,7 +37,7 @@ public:
     char upload_dir[256];
     char user_name[256];
 
-    int parse(FILE*);
+    int parse(istream& f);
     int parse_file(char* dir=".");
 };
 
diff --git a/test/testbase.py b/test/testbase.py
index f7fd16b441..2859bec41e 100644
--- a/test/testbase.py
+++ b/test/testbase.py
@@ -242,6 +242,8 @@ class TestProject(Project):
 
         kwargs['short_name'] = kwargs.get('short_name') or 'test_'+appname
         kwargs['long_name'] = kwargs.get('long_name') or 'Project ' + kwargs['short_name'].replace('_',' ').capitalize()
+        apply(Project.__init__, [self], kwargs)
+
         (num_wu, redundancy) = get_redundancy_args(num_wu, redundancy)
         self.resource_share = resource_share or 1
         self.num_wu = num_wu
@@ -253,9 +255,8 @@ class TestProject(Project):
 
         self.platforms     = [Platform()]
         self.core_versions = core_versions or [CoreVersion(self.platforms[0])]
-        self.app_versions  = app_versions or [AppVersion(App(appname),
-                                                         self.platforms[0],
-                                                         appname)]
+        self.app_versions  = app_versions or [
+            AppVersion(App(appname), self.platforms[0], appname)]
         self.apps          = apps or unique(map(lambda av: av.app, self.app_versions))
         # convenience vars:
         self.app_version   = self.app_versions[0]
@@ -265,7 +266,6 @@ class TestProject(Project):
         self.work  = self.works[0]
         self.user  = self.users[0]
         self.host  = self.hosts[0]
-        apply(Project.__init__, [self], kwargs)
         self.started = False
 
     def init_install(self):
@@ -433,10 +433,12 @@ class CoreVersion(database.CoreVersion):
         database.CoreVersion.__init__(self)
         self.version_num = 1
         self.platform = platform
+    def commit(self):
         self.xml_doc = tools.process_executable_file(
             os.path.join(boinc_path_config.TOP_BUILD_DIR,'client',
                          options.client_bin_filename),
             quiet=True)
+        database.CoreVersion.commit(self)
 
 class User(database.User):
     def __init__(self):
@@ -457,12 +459,15 @@ class AppVersion(database.AppVersion):
         self.app = app
         self.version_num = 1
         self.platform = platform
-        self.xml_doc = tools.process_app_version(
-            app, self.version_num,
-            [os.path.join(boinc_path_config.TOP_BUILD_DIR,'apps',exec_file)],
-            quiet=True)
         self.min_core_version = 1
         self.max_core_version = 999
+        self._exec_file=exec_file
+    def commit(self):
+        self.xml_doc = tools.process_app_version(
+            self.app, self.version_num,
+            [os.path.join(boinc_path_config.TOP_BUILD_DIR,'apps',self._exec_file)],
+            quiet=True)
+        database.AppVersion.commit(self)
 
 class HostList(list):
     def run(self, asynch=False): map(lambda i: i.run(asynch=asynch), self)
diff --git a/tools/update_versions b/tools/update_versions
index cf05c07254..bd1d5ce558 100755
--- a/tools/update_versions
+++ b/tools/update_versions
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 Scans apps dir for current core client and application versions and updates
 the database as appropriate.
 
-config.xml must contain an <apps_dir> which specifies the directory to search.
+config.xml must contain an <app_dir> which specifies the directory to search.
 
 apps/boinc/ contains core client versions.
 apps/APPLICATION_NAME/ contains application versions for each application.