Provided by: elektra-doc_0.8.14-5_all 
NAME
md_src_plugins_ini_README - README
• infos = Information about ini plugin is in keys below
• infos/author = Felix Berlakovich elektra@berlakovich.net
• infos/licence = BSD
• infos/needs =
• infos/provides = storage
• infos/placements = getstorage setstorage
• infos/description = ini file backend
This plugin allows read/write of INI files. INI files consist of simple key value pairs of the form 'key
= value'. Additionally keys can be categorised into different sections. Sections must be enclosed in
'[]', for example '[section]'. Each section is converted into a directory key (without value) and keys
below the section are located below the section key. If the same section appears multiple times, the keys
of all sections with the same name are merged together under the section key.
USAGE
If you want to add a ini file to the global key database, simply use mount:
kdb mount file.ini /example ini
Then you can modify the contents of the ini file using set:
kdb set user/example/key value
kdb set user/example/section
kdb set user/example/section/key value
Find out which file you modified:
kdb file user/example
SECTIONS
When converting a KeySet to an INI file it is important to differentiate between regular keys and section
keys. The ini plugin treats all keys with a binary NULL value as section key. Note that binary NULL is
not the same as an empty value (i.e. '').
For example consider the following ini file:
[section1]
key1 =
key2 = value2
This would result in a KeySet containing three keys. The section key section1 would be a binary key with
value NULL (i.e. 0). section1/key1 would be a regular key with value ''. section1/key2 would be a regular
key with value 'value2'. In the other direction this requires section keys to be manually created with a
binary NULL value.
For example consider the following KeySet:
section1 = ""
section1/subkey = "value1"
Although section1 might look like a section, it would result in the following ini file:
section1 =
section1subkey = value1
AUTOSECTIONS
Creating the section keys manually can be cumbersome. This is especially true because KeySets resulting
in INI files usually do not contain keys with a depth greater than 1 relative to the parent key. For that
reason a good guess can be made what should be sections and what not. This is done by activanting the
autosections option.
The autosections feature can be enabled by creating a key named autosections in the configuration of the
plugin. Note that only the existence of the key is relevant, not its value.
As soon as this key exists, the plugin will automatically create section keys for keys with a depth
greater than 1 relative to the parent key.
For example consider the following ini file:
[section1]
key1 =
key2 = value2
[section2]
key3 = value3
Without the autosections option the following KeySet is required to create this ini file:
parent/section1 = NULL
parent/section1/key1 = ""
parent/section1/key2 = "value2"
parent/section2 = NULL
parent/section2/key3 = "value3"
The section keys have to be inserted manually. With the autosections option the KeySet can be reduced to
the following:
parent/section1/key1 = ""
parent/section1/key2 = "value2"
parent/section2/key3 = "value3"
All three keys have a depth greater than 1 relative to the parent key parent. Therefore the key name part
directly below the parent key is considered to be the section name. For example, for the keys
parent/section1/key1 and parent/section1/key2 section1 is considered to be the section and is
automatically created in the INI file.
COMMENTS
The ini plugin supports the use of comments. Comment lines start with a ';' or a '#'. Adjacent comments
are merged together (separated by '\n') and are put into the comment metadata of the key following the
comment. This can be either a section key or a normal key.
MULTILINE SUPPORT
The ini plugin supports multiline ini values. Continuations of previous values have to start with
whitespace characters.
For example consider the following ini file:
key1 = value1
key2 = value2
with continuation
lines
This would result in a KeySet containing two keys. One key named key1 with the value value1 and another
key named key2 with the value value2\nwith continuation\nlines.
By default the support for multiline values is disabled because formatting (whitespaces before keynames)
may be accidentially mixed with value continuations. The multiline support can be enabled by creating a
key named multiline in the configuration of the plugin. Note that only the existence of the key is
relevant, not its value. As soon as this key exists, the plugin treats lines starting with whitespaces as
continuations of the previous key value. Keep in mind, that writing multiline values is also only
supported if the multiline support is turned on. Otherwise the plugin will refuse to write key values
with newlines.
METAKEY SUPPORT
The ini plugin supports turning keys into metakeys by adding the config key meta.
PRESERVE ORDER
If the preserveorder config key is set, the ini plugin preserves the original order of the file. Only use
this option for editing existing key values.
RESTRICTIONS
Currently the plugin has the following shortcomings:
• formatting newlines are not restored on write
• regardless of which comment was used originally, it is always written back as ';'
The plugin is still work in progress.
Version 0.8.14 Tue Dec 15 2015 md_src_plugins_ini_README(3elektra)