NAME

       Config::Tiny - Read/Write .ini style files with as little code as possible

SYNOPSIS

               # In your configuration file
               rootproperty=blah

               [section]
               one=twp
               three= four
               Foo =Bar
               empty=

               # In your program
               use Config::Tiny;

               # Create a config
               my $Config = Config::Tiny->new;

               # Open the config
               $Config = Config::Tiny->read( 'file.conf' );
               $Config = Config::Tiny->read( 'file.conf', 'utf8' ); # Neither ':' nor '<:' prefix!
               $Config = Config::Tiny->read( 'file.conf', 'encoding(iso-8859-1)');

               # Reading properties
               my $rootproperty = $Config->{_}->{rootproperty};
               my $one = $Config->{section}->{one};
               my $Foo = $Config->{section}->{Foo};

               # Changing data
               $Config->{newsection} = { this => 'that' }; # Add a section
               $Config->{section}->{Foo} = 'Not Bar!';     # Change a value
               delete $Config->{_};                        # Delete a value or section

               # Save a config
               $Config->write( 'file.conf' );
               $Config->write( 'file.conf', 'utf8' ); # Neither ':' nor '>:' prefix!

               # Shortcuts
               my($rootproperty) = $$Config{_}{rootproperty};

               my($config) = Config::Tiny -> read_string('alpha=bet');
               my($value)  = $$config{_}{alpha}; # $value is 'bet'.

               my($config) = Config::Tiny -> read_string("[init]\nalpha=bet");
               my($value)  = $$config{init}{alpha}; # $value is 'bet'.

DESCRIPTION

       "Config::Tiny" is a Perl class to read and write .ini style configuration files with as
       little code as possible, reducing load time and memory overhead.

       Most of the time it is accepted that Perl applications use a lot of memory and modules.

       The *::Tiny family of modules is specifically intended to provide an ultralight
       alternative to the standard modules.

       This module is primarily for reading human written files, and anything we write shouldn't
       need to have documentation/comments. If you need something with more power move up to
       Config::Simple, Config::General or one of the many other "Config::*" modules.

       Lastly, Config::Tiny does not preserve your comments, whitespace, or the order of your
       config file.

       See Config::Tiny::Ordered (and possibly others) for the preservation of the order of the
       entries in the file.

CONFIGURATION FILE SYNTAX

       Files are the same format as for MS Windows "*.ini" files. For example:

               [section]
               var1=value1
               var2=value2

       If a property is outside of a section at the beginning of a file, it will be assigned to
       the "root section", available at "$Config->{_}".

       Lines starting with '#' or ';' are considered comments and ignored, as are blank lines.

       When writing back to the config file, all comments, custom whitespace, and the ordering of
       your config file elements is discarded. If you need to keep the human elements of a config
       when writing back, upgrade to something better, this module is not for you.

METHODS

   errstr()
       Returns a string representing the most recent error, or the empty string.

       You can also retrieve the error message from the $Config::Tiny::errstr variable.

   new()
       The constructor "new" creates and returns an empty "Config::Tiny" object.

   read($filename, [$encoding])
       Here, the [] indicate an optional parameter.

       The "read" constructor reads a config file, $filename, and returns a new "Config::Tiny"
       object containing the properties in the file.

       $encoding may be used to indicate the encoding of the file, e.g. 'utf8' or
       'encoding(iso-8859-1)'.

       Do not add a prefix to $encoding, such as '<' or '<:'.

       Returns the object on success, or "undef" on error.

       When "read" fails, "Config::Tiny" sets an error message internally you can recover via
       "Config::Tiny->errstr". Although in some cases a failed "read" will also set the operating
       system error variable $!, not all errors do and you should not rely on using the $!
       variable.

       See t/04.utf8.t and t/04.utf8.txt.

   read_string($string)
       The "read_string" method takes as argument the contents of a config file as a string and
       returns the "Config::Tiny" object for it.

   write($filename, [$encoding])
       Here, the [] indicate an optional parameter.

       The "write" method generates the file content for the properties, and writes it to disk to
       the filename specified.

       $encoding may be used to indicate the encoding of the file, e.g. 'utf8' or
       'encoding(iso-8859-1)'.

       Do not add a prefix to $encoding, such as '>' or '>:'.

       Returns true on success or "undef" on error.

       See t/04.utf8.t and t/04.utf8.txt.

   write_string()
       Generates the file content for the object and returns it as a string.

FAQ

   Why can't I put comments at the ends of lines?
       Because a line like:

               key=value # A comment

       Sets key to 'value # A comment' :-(.

       This conforms to the syntax discussed in "CONFIGURATION FILE SYNTAX".

   Why can't I omit the '=' signs?
       E.g.:

               [Things]
               my =
               list =
               of =
               things =

       Instead of:

               [Things]
               my
               list
               of
               things

       Because the use of '=' signs is a type of mandatory documentation. It indicates that that
       section contains 4 items, and not 1 odd item split over 4 lines.

   Why do I have to assign the result of a method call to a variable?
       This question comes from RT#85386.

       Yes, the syntax may seem odd, but you don't have to call both new() and read_string().

       Try:

               perl -MData::Dumper -MConfig::Tiny -E 'my $c=Config::Tiny->read_string("one=s"); say Dumper $c'

       Or:

               my($config) = Config::Tiny -> read_string('alpha=bet');
               my($value)  = $$config{_}{alpha}; # $value is 'bet'.

       Or even, a bit ridiculously:

               my($value) = ${Config::Tiny -> read_string('alpha=bet')}{_}{alpha}; # $value is 'bet'.

CAVEATS

   Unsupported Section Headers
       Some edge cases in section headers are not supported, and additionally may not be detected
       when writing the config file.

       Specifically, section headers with leading whitespace, trailing whitespace, or newlines
       anywhere in the section header, will not be written correctly to the file and may cause
       file corruption.

   Setting an option more than once
       "Config::Tiny" will only recognize the first time an option is set in a config file. Any
       further attempts to set the same option later in the config file are ignored.

SUPPORT

       Bugs should be reported via the CPAN bug tracker at

       <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Config-Tiny>

       For other issues, or commercial enhancement or support, contact the author.

AUTHOR

       Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>

       Maintanence from V 2.15: Ron Savage <http://savage.net.au/>.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

       Thanks to Sherzod Ruzmetov <sherzodr@cpan.org> for Config::Simple, which inspired this
       module by being not quite "simple" enough for me :).

SEE ALSO

       See, amongst many: Config::Simple and Config::General.

       See Config::Tiny::Ordered (and possibly others) for the preservation of the order of the
       entries in the file.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright 2002 - 2011 Adam Kennedy.

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

       The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module.