Paul, We use a hybrid approach for managing program configuration info:
1. Config info stored in an INI like text file(s) that users can edit if they need to. 2. We parse these INI style file(s) at application startup and store their key/value pairs to a cursor. Note: We allow a user to specify multiple INI files via the command line. This allows us to 'append' a test INI file to our application's default INI file for testing - without having to edit our default INI file. The advantages of using a text file format as the source for our configuration information: 1. Users/support can quickly view and edit settings in the field 2. Copy and paste of bulk settings easily accomplished 3. Easy to search and replace on specific text strings 4. Easy to diff two versions of an ini file for differences 5. Integrates well with source code control systems 6. Allows for inline commenting (we support // as an inline comment as well). Example: Debug = 1 // legal values: 0 or 1 7. Allows for quick testing by allowing multiple key/value pairs (the last key/value pair is what gets saved to the configuration cursor). This allows inline changes for testing and/or documentation. Example: ; use testing folder BackupFolder = c:\backups BackupFolder = c:\backups for testing Malcolm _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
