trusty (3) Config::Std.3pm.gz

Provided by: libconfig-std-perl_0.901-1_all bug

NAME

       Config::Std - Load and save configuration files in a standard format

VERSION

       This document describes Config::Std version 0.901

SYNOPSIS

           use Config::Std;

           # Load named config file into specified hash...
           read_config 'demo2.cfg' => my %config;

           # Extract the value of a key/value pair from a specified section...
           $config_value = $config{Section_label}{key};

           # Change (or create) the value of a key/value pair...
           $config{Other_section_label}{other_key} = $new_val;

           # Update the config file from which this hash was loaded...
           write_config %config;

           # Write the config information to another file as well...
           write_config %config, $other_file_name;

DESCRIPTION

       This module implements yet another damn configuration-file system.

       The configuration language is deliberately simple and limited, and the module works hard
       to preserve as much information (section order, comments, etc.) as possible when a
       configuration file is updated.

       The whole point of Config::Std is to encourage use of one standard layout and syntax in
       config files. Damian says "I could have gotten away with it, I would have only allowed one
       separator. But it proved impossible to choose between ":" and "=" (half the people I asked
       wanted one, half wanted the other)."  Providing round-trip file re-write is the spoonful
       of sugar to help the medicine go down.  The supported syntax is within the general INI
       file family

       See Chapter 19 of "Perl Best Practices" (O'Reilly, 2005) for more detail on the rationale
       for this approach.

   Configuration language
       The configuration language is a slight extension of the Windows INI format.

       Comments

       A comment starts with a "#" character (Perl-style) or a ";" character (INI-style), and
       runs to the end of the same line:

           # This is a comment

           ; Ywis, eke hight thilke

       Comments can be placed almost anywhere in a configuration file, except inside a section
       label, or in the key or value of a configuration variable:

           # Valid comment
           [ # Not a comment, just a weird section label ]

           ; Valid comment
           key: value  ; Not a comment, just part of the value

       NOTE BENE -- that last is a BAD EXAMPLE of what is NOT supported.  This module supports
       full-line comments only, not on same line with semantic content.

       Sections

       A configuration file consists of one or more sections, each of which is introduced by a
       label in square brackets:

           [SECTION1]        # Almost anything is a valid section label

           [SECTION 2]       # Internal whitespace is allowed (except newlines)

           [%^$%^&!!!]       # The label doesn't have to be alphanumeric

           [ETC. ETC. AS MANY AS YOU WANT]

       The only restriction on section labels is that they must be by themselves on a single line
       (except for any surrounding whitespace or trailing comments), and they cannot contain the
       character "]".

       Every line after a given section label until the next section label (or the end of the
       config file) belongs to the given section label. If no section label is currently in
       effect, the current section has an empty label. In other words, there is an implicit:

           []                # Label is the empty string

       at the start of each config file.

       Configuration variables

       Each non-empty line within a section must consist of the specification of a configuration
       variable. Each such variable consists of a key and a string value. For example:

           name: George
            age: 47

           his weight! : 185

       The key consists of every character (including internal whitespace) from the start of the
       line until the key/value separator. So, the previous example declares three keys: 'name',
       'age', and 'his weight!'.

       Note that whitespace before and after the key is removed. This makes it easier to format
       keys cleanly:

                  name : George
                   age : 47
           his weight! : 185

       The key/value separator can be either a colon (as above) or an equals sign, like so:

                  name= George
                   age=  47
           his weight! = 185

       Both types of separators can be used in the same file, but neither can be used as part of
       a key. Newlines are not allowed in keys either.

       When writing out a config file, Config::Std tries to preserve whichever separator was used
       in the original data (if that data was read in). New data (created by code not parsed by
       "read_config") is written back with a colon as its default separator, unless you specify
       the only other separator value '=' when the module is loaded:

           use Config::Std { def_sep => '=' };

       Note that this does not change read-in parsing, does not change punctuation for values
       that were parsed, and will not allow values other than '=' or ':'.

       Everything from the first non-whitespace character after the separator, up to the end of
       the line, is treated as the value for the config variable.  So all of the above examples
       define the same three values: 'George', '47', and '185'.

       In other words, any whitespace immediately surrounding the separator character is part of
       the separator, not part of the key or value.

       Note that you can't put a comment on the same line as a configuration variable. The "#
       etc." is simply considered part of the value:

           [Delimiters]

           block delims:    { }
           string delims:   " "
           comment delims:  # \n

       You can comment a config var on the preceding or succeeding line:

           [Delimiters]

           # Use braces to delimit blocks...
           block delims:    { }

           # Use double quotes to delimit strings

           string delims:   " "

           # Use octothorpe/newline to delimit comments
           comment delims:  # \n

       Multi-line configuration values

       A single value can be continued over two or more lines. If the line immediately after a
       configuration variable starts with the separator character used in the variable's
       definition, then the value of the variable continues on that line. For example:

           address: 742 Evergreen Terrace
                  : Springfield
                  : USA

       The newlines then form part of the value, so the value specified in the previous example
       is: "742 Evergreen Terrace\nSpringfield\nUSA"

       Note that the second and subsequent lines of a continued value are considered to start
       where the whitespace after the original separator finished, not where the whitespace after
       their own separator finishes. For example, if the previous example had been:

           address: 742 Evergreen Terrace
                  :   Springfield
                  :     USA

       then the value would be:

           "742 Evergreen Terrace\n  Springfield\n    USA"

       If a continuation line has less leading whitespace that the first line:

           address:   742 Evergreen Terrace
                  :  Springfield
                  : USA

       it's treated as having no leading whitespace:

           "742 Evergreen Terrace\nSpringfield\nUSA"

       Multi-part configuration values

       If the particular key appears more than once in the same section, it is considered to be
       part of the same configuration variable. The value of that configuration value is then a
       list, containing all the individual values for each instance of the key. For example,
       given the definition:

           cast: Homer
           cast: Marge
           cast: Lisa
           cast: Bart
           cast: Maggie

       the corresponding value of the 'cast' configuration variable is:
       "['Homer', 'Marge', 'Lisa', 'Bart', 'Maggie']"

       Individual values in a multi-part list can also be multi-line (see above). For example,
       given:

           extras: Moe
                 : (the bartender)

           extras: Smithers
                 : (the dogsbody)

       the value for the 'extras' config variable is:
       "["Moe\n(the bartender)", "Smithers\n(the dogsbody)"]"

   Internal representation
       Each section label in a configuration file becomes a top-level hash key whe the
       configuration file is read in. The corresponding value is a nested hash reference.

       Each configuration variable's key becomes a key in that nested hash reference.  Each
       configuration variable's value becomes the corresponding value in that nested hash
       reference.

       Single-line and multi-line values become strings. Multi-part values become references to
       arrays of strings.

       For example, the following configuration file:

           # A simple key (just an identifier)...
           simple : simple value

           # A more complex key (with whitespace)...
           more complex key : more complex value

           # A new section...
           [MULTI-WHATEVERS]

           # A value spread over several lines...
           multi-line : this is line 1
                      : this is line 2
                      : this is line 3

           # Several values for the same key...
           multi-value: this is value 1
           multi-value: this is value 2
           multi-value: this is value 3

       would be read into a hash whose internal structure looked like this:

           {
              # Default section...
              '' => {
                 'simple'           => 'simple value',
                 'more complex key' => 'more complex value',
              },

              # Named section...
              'MULTI-WHATEVERS' => {
                   'multi-line'  => "this is line 1\nthis is line 2\nthis is line 3",

                   'multi-value' => [ 'this is value 1',
                                      'this is value 2',
                                      'this is value 3'
                                    ],
               }
           }

INTERFACE

       The following subroutines are exported automatically whenever the module is loaded...

       "read_config($filename => %config_hash)"
       "read_config($filename => $config_hash_ref)"
       "read_config($string_ref => %config_hash_or_ref)"
           The "read_config()" subroutine takes two arguments: the filename of a configuration
           file, and a variable into which the contents of that configuration file are to be
           loaded.

           If the variable is a hash, then the configuration sections and their key/value pairs
           are loaded into nested subhashes of the hash.

           If the variable is a scalar with an undefined value, a reference to an anonymous hash
           is first assigned to that scalar, and that hash is then filled as described above.

           The subroutine returns true on success, and throws an exception on failure.

           If you pass a reference to the string as the first argument to "read_config()" it uses
           that string as the source of the config info.  For example:

                   use Config::Std;

                   # here we load the config text to a scalar
                   my $cfg = q{
                   [Section 1]
                   attr1 = at
                   attr2 = bat

                   [Section 2]
                   attr3 = cat
                   };

                   # here we parse the config from that scalar by passing a reference to it.
                   read_config( \$cfg, my %config );

                   use Data::Dumper 'Dumper';
                   warn Dumper [ \%config ];

       "write_config(%config_hash => $filename)"
       "write_config($config_hash_ref => $filename)"
       "write_config(%config_hash)"
       "write_config($config_hash_ref)"
           The "write_config()" subroutine takes two arguments: the hash or hash reference
           containing the configuration data to be written out to disk, and an optional filename
           specifying which file it is to be written to.

           The data hash must conform to the two-level structure described earlier: with top-
           level keys naming sections and their values being references to second-level hashes
           that store the keys and values of the configuartion variables. If the structure of the
           hash differs from this, an exception is thrown.

           If a filename is also specified, the subroutine opens that file and writes to it. It
           no filename is specified, the subroutine uses the name of the file from which the hash
           was originally loaded using "read_config()". It no filename is specified and the hash
           wasn't originally loaded using "read_config()", an exception is thrown.

           The subroutine returns true on success and throws and exception on failure.

       If necessary (typically to avoid conflicts with other modules), you can have the module
       export its two subroutines with different names by loading it with the appropriate
       options:

           use Config::Std { read_config => 'get_ini', write_config => 'update_ini' };

           # and later...

           get_ini($filename => %config_hash);

           # and later still...

           update_ini(%config_hash);

       You can also control how much spacing the module puts between single- line values when
       they are first written to a file, by using the "def_gap" option:

           # No empty line between single-line config values...
           use Config::Std { def_gap => 0 };

           # An empty line between all single-line config values...
           use Config::Std { def_gap => 1 };

       Regardless of the value passed for "def_gap", new multi-line values are always written
       with an empty line above and below them. Likewise, values that were previously read in
       from a file are always written back with whatever spacing they originally had.

DIAGNOSTICS

       Can't open config file '%s' (%s)
           You tried to read in a configuration file, but the file you specified didn't exist.
           Perhaps the filepath you specified was wrong. Or maybe your application didn't have
           permission to access the file you specified.

       Can't read from locked config file '$filename'
           You tried to read in a configuration file, but the file you specified was being
           written by someone else (they had a file lock active on it).  Either try again later,
           or work out who else is using the file.

       Scalar second argument to 'read_config' must be empty
           You passed a scalar variable as the destination into "read_config()" was supposed to
           load a configuration file, but that variable already had a defined value, so
           "read_config()" couldn't autovivify a new hash for you. Did you mean to pass the
           subroutine a hash instead of a scalar?

       Can't save %s value for key '%s' (only scalars or array refs)
           You called "write_config" and passed it a hash containing a configuration variable
           whose value wasn't a single string, or a list of strings. The configuration file
           format supported by this module only supports those two data types as values. If you
           really need to store other kinds of data in a configuration file, you should consider
           using "Data::Dumper" or "YAML" instead.

       Missing filename in call to write_config()
           You tried to calll "write_config()" with only a configuration hash, but that hash
           wasn't originally loaded using "read_config()", so "write_config()" has no idea where
           to write it to. Either make sure the hash you're trying to save was originally loaded
           using "read_config()", or else provide an explicit filename as the second argument to
           "write_config()".

       Can't open config file '%s' for writing (%s)
           You tried to update or create a configuration file, but the file you specified could
           not be opened for writing (for the reason given in the parentheses). This is often
           caused by incorrect filepaths or lack of write permissions on a directory.

       Can't write to locked config file '%s'
           You tried to update or create a configuration file, but the file you specified was
           being written at the time by someone else (they had a file lock active on it). Either
           try again later, or work out who else is using the file.

CONFIGURATION AND ENVIRONMENT

       Config::Std requires no configuration files or environment variables.  (To do so would be
       disturbingly recursive.)

DEPENDENCIES

       This module requires the Class::Std module (available from the CPAN)

INCOMPATIBILITIES

       Those variants of INI file dialect supporting partial-line comment are incompatible.
       (This is the price of keeping comments when re-writing.)

BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

       Loading on demand
           If you attempt to load "read_config()" and "write_config()" at runtime with "require",
           you can not rely upon the prototype to convert a regular hash to a reference. To work
           around this, you must explicitly pass a reference to the config hash.

               require Config::Std;
               Config::Std->import;

               my %config;
               read_config($file, \%config);
               write_config(\%config, $file);

       Windows line endings on Unix/Linux (RT#21547/23550)
           If the config file being read contains carriage returns and line feeds at the end of
           each line rather than just line feeds (i.e. the standard Windows file format, when
           read on a machine expecting POSIX file format), Config::Std emits an error with
           embedded newline.

           Workaround is match file line-endings to locale.

           This will be fixed in 1.000.

       leading comment vanishes (RT#24597,)
           A comment before the first section is not always retained on write-back, if the ''
           default section is empty.

       00write.t test 5 fails on perl5.8.1 (RT#17425)
           Due to an incompatible change in v5.8.1 partially reversed in v5.8.2, hash key
           randomisation can cause test to fail in that one version of Perl. Workaround is export
           environment variable PERL_HASH_SEED=0.

       Please report any bugs or feature requests to "bug-config-std@rt.cpan.org", or through the
       web interface at <http://rt.cpan.org>.

AUTHOR

       Damian Conway  "<DCONWAY@cpan.org>" Maintainers Bill Ricker    "<BRICKER@cpan.org>" Tom
       Metro      "<tmetro@cpan.org>"

       Copyright (c) 2005, Damian Conway "<DCONWAY@cpan.org>".  Copyright (c) 2011, D.Conway,
       W.Ricker "<BRICKER@cpan.org>" All rights reserved.

       This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
       terms as Perl itself.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

       BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE,
       TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE
       COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
       ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
       WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO
       THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE
       DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.

       IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT
       HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY
       THE ABOVE LICENCE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL,
       INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
       SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR
       LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY
       OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
       SUCH DAMAGES.