[Python-Dev] CVS: python/dist/src/Lib ConfigParser.py,1.16,1.17

Greg Stein gstein@lyra.org
Sat, 4 Mar 2000 02:05:15 -0800 (PST)


On Sat, 4 Mar 2000, Moshe Zadka wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Mar 2000, Jeremy Hylton wrote:
> > It sounds like ConfigParser code and docs could use a general cleanup.
> > Are there any other issues to take care of as part of that cleanup?
> 
> One thing that bothered me once:
> 
> I want to be able to have something like:
> 
> [section]
> tag = 1
> tag = 2
> 
> And be able to retrieve ("section", "tag") -> ["1", "2"].
> Can be awfully useful for things that make sense several time. 
> Perhaps there should be two functions, one that reads a single-tag and
> one that reads a multi-tag?

Structured values would be nice. Several times, I've needed to decompose
the right hand side into lists.

> File format: I'm sure I'm going to get yelled at, but why don't we 
> make it XML? Hard to edit, yadda, yadda, but you can easily write a
> special purpose widget to edit XConfig (that's what we'll call the DTD)
> files.

Write a whole new module. ConfigParser is for files that look like the
above.

There isn't a reason to NOT use XML, but it shouldn't go into
ConfigParser.

<IMO>
I find the above style much easier for *humans*, than an XML file, to
specify options. XML is good for computers; not so good for humans.
</IMO>

Cheers,
-g

-- 
Greg Stein, http://www.lyra.org/