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From: Volkert Barr <barr@cs.tu-berlin.de>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: A standard package for config files is needed
Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 09:41:32 +0200
Organization: TU Berlin, Fachbereich Informatik
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Date: 2002-05-30T07:41:32+00:00
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tmoran@acm.org wrote:
> 
> >The Java Property class is simple and easy to use! The Properties
> >can be stored as an ASCI File, which is a  List of (Key,Value) pairs.
>   In the Windows Registry case, the data is never accessed directly, so it
> doesn't matter if it's ASCII or whatever.  If you are going to allow safe
> concurrent access, the config file obviously can't be a simple ASCII file.
> Instead there's a database manager frontend (nee regedit) to allow low
> level mucking, and most changes are normally done via API calls under the
> control of the relevant app itself.
> Looking at Claw, I see, eg,
>         -- Typical usage might be:
>         --     Claw.Registry.Get(
>         --           Root_Key   => Claw.Registry.HKEY_CURRENT_USER,
>         --           Subkey     => "Software\MyCompany\ProgramName",
>         --           Value_Name => "User_Nickname",
>         --           Item       => Saved_String,
>         --           Last       => Last);
> and appropriate variations for stream io, record io (a la Sequential_IO),
> etc.  Note also that Windows has the concept of branches of the
> configuration tree for Users, Current_User, Local_Machine, Current_Config,
> etc.  That's useful and should be considered for inclusion.

In my eyes, we would should seek for a simple useable solution first.

1) an application can handle (read/write) one or more config files!
2) a config file should store information in plain ASCII, so a 
   user can easily modify them by hand!
3) the config file should be simple organized:
   - All entries sould be of the form "scope.key := value"
   - Ada-like comment blocks
  
   (parsing this is very easy, so no other toolkits are needed)

If concurrent access is a need, we should take this
into account! But i did not see it! In later versions
more sophisticated features can be added, if we need 
them!

What about this location (Java-like API)

   Ada.Utilities;
   Ada.Utilities.Configuration
   Ada.Utilities. ...


Volkert

-- 
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 Volkert Barr      Institut fuer Softwaretechnik und 
                             Theoretische Informatik
             Fachgruppe Softwaretechnik *  TU Berlin

 email: barr@cs.tu-berlin.de
 web: www.cs.tu-berlin.de/~barr
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