Talk:Read a configuration file

current task

Ok, so we currently have a task here without any implementation. But I find it odd that we are supposed to set a value based on the contents of a comment in a config file. In properly factored code I would imagine that either [a] you set the defaults before the config file is read, and/or [b] you explicitly declare non-false boolean values. (I am also a bit wary about the use of the term "standard" in that config file's comment.) --Rdm 22:28, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Java properties files are closer to a de facto "standard", especially if you ignore the property substitution feature. Failing that, there's the old INI format. –Donal Fellows 22:59, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

How about modifying the task be the reading of a "simple" ini file that contains:

<lang ini>

Here we go...

[my_section]

Blah=blah

ab=1.234 [her_section]

ab=xyz

bc=C:\a\b\d.txt ab=release </lang>

And print the resulting information? I would think that variants of .ini files are in common use, and the current task example is odd in having two comment characters, #; one of which ';' seems to be ignored and a value returned for seedsremoved; also the file has uppercase identifiers that are returned as lowercase variables? Too much magic! --Paddy3118 03:59, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

The task says to ignore comments. So I wrote a Ruby example that ignores the '; SEEDSREMOVED' line and then prints 'seedsremoved = false' because it never found a 'SEEDSREMOVED' line. I suspect that the task is a draft because the author wants to decide what else to put in the config file. --Kernigh 04:41, 11 February 2011 (UTC)