IniParser++

A small, modern C++11 header-only library for read, write and modify .INI configuration files with help of std::map

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Content

• IniParser++
  • Content
  • - License
  • Motiviaton
  • ## Documentation
    • Namespace
    • Typedefs
  • | inimap | Typedef for std::map<std::string, std::map<std::string, std::string>> |
    • Class IniParser
      • Constructors
      • Destructor
      • Private Member
      • Private Methods
      • Public Methods
      • Setters (Configuration)
  • Examples
    • Read and write .ini file
    • Create new .ini file
    • Hanlde comments
  • More examples are in the unit tests under test/unit.cpp
  • Unit Tests
  • License

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Motiviaton

This project was highly inspired from the C# ini-parser by rickyah and its good usability.

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Documentation

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Namespace

ini

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Typedefs

| Type | Description | |------|-------------| | inimap | Typedef for std::map<std::string, std::map<std::string, std::string>> |

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Class IniParser

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Constructors

| Signature | Description | |-----------|-------------| | IniParser() | Creates new instance of IniParser | | IniParser(std::string file_path) | Creates new instance and reads file content | | IniParser(std::string file, inimap& data) | Creates new instance, reads file and parse data to inimap by reference |

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Destructor

| Name | Description | |------|-------------| | ~IniParser() | clears all private container

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Private Member

| Signature | Type | Description | |-----------|------|-------------| | _lines | std::vector<std::string> | Stores all lines by reading file/string data | | _values | ini::inimap | Stores _line values to std::map during parsing | | _keyValueDelim | std::string | Stores default key value delimiter of ini file (default "=") | | _lineSeparator | std::string | Stores default separator for ini data, default is newline ("\n") | | _comments | bool | used for that parser knows if it needs to handle comments (read/write) | | _commentSign | char | Line prefix for comment lines in ini file |

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Private Methods

| Signature | Return Value | Description | |-----------|--------------|-------------| | _split(std::string delimiter) | std::vector<std::string> | Splits a string into parts |

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Public Methods

| Signature | Return Value | Description | |-----------|--------------|-------------| | parse() | ini::inimap | Parses data which was red before | parseFile(std::string file_path) | ini::inimap | read file if exists and parses data | | parseString(std::string& data) | ini::inimap | read string and parse | | readFile(std::string file_path) | bool | reads file and store values internal, if successful returns true | | readString(std::string data) | bool | reads string and store values internal, if successful returns true | | writeFile(std::string file_path) | bool | writes data into file | writeString(std::string file_path) | bool | writes data into std::string

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Setters (Configuration)

Because INI files are not standardized there are different configuration setters which you can adjust.

| Signature | Return Value/Type | Description | |-----------|-------------------|-------------| | setKeyValueDelimiter(std::string delimiter) | void | Set the delimiter between keys and values (default is "=" ) | | setLineSeparator(std::string seperator) | void | Set the seperator for the ini lines | | setAllowComments(bool b) | void | Set if comments are saved in the inimap data (default false) | | setCommentSign(char c) | void | Set which sign is used for comments in the INI file (default is ';' ) | | setSectionOpen(char c) | void | Set which opening sign is used for a INI section | | setSectionClose(char c) | void | Set which closing sign is used for a INI section | | setSectionTag(char c1, char c2) | void | Set opening and closing tag for a INI section |

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Examples

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Read and write .ini file

# comment
path=/home/test/config.txt
; comment
[Test]
value=120
exe=/home/test/bin

#include "iniparser.h"
using IniParser = ini::IniParser;
// ...

// first example (savest)
IniParser ipa;
if(ini.readFile("test.ini")) {
    // only if file is successful red
    // parse value to std::map
    auto ini_data = ipa.parse(); 

    std::string val = ini_data["Test"]["value"] // "120"
    ini_data["Test"]["value"] = "90" // set value
    ini_data
    // add new value
    ini_data["New"]["counter"] = 20;

    //remove value from existing
    ini_data["Test"].erase("value");

    if(ipa.writeFile("test.ini", ini_data)) {
        // do something if writing was successful ...
    }
}

// second example (less code)
IniParser ipa("test.ini"); // be sure that file exists
auto ini_data = ipa.parse(); 
// etc.

// third example (fast written but unsafe)
ini::inimap ini_data;
// be sure that file exist and data is in INI format
IniParser("test.ini", data);
std::string val = ini_data["Test"]["value"] // "120"
// etc.

// ...

Output:

path=/home/test/config.txt

[New]
counter=20

[Test]
exe=/home/test/bin

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Create new .ini file

#include "iniparser.h"
using IniParser = ini::IniParser;
// ...

IniParser ipa;
ini::inimap ini_data;

ini_data[""]["example"] = "hello";
ini_data["Settings"]["path"] = "/home/usr/dir";
ini_data["Settings"]["bin"] = "/home/usr/dir/bin";
ini_data["Counter"]["read"] = "10";
ini_data["Counter"]["write"] = "5";

ipa.WriteFile("test.ini", ini_data);

Output (test.ini):

example=hello 

[Settings]
path=/home/usr/dir
bin=/home/usr/dir/bin

[Counter]
read=10
write=5

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Hanlde comments

Two kinds of comments are supported:

• On top of the file
• On top of the each section

Attribute specific comments are unfortunately not supported.

Ini file (comments.ini)

# this is a example to read and write comments
# some additional information

[Settings]
# here are the settings
path=/home/usr/dir

IniParser p;
p.setAllowComments(true);
p.setCommentSign('#');
ini::inimap data = p.parseFile("commments.ini");
// please remember that the prefix (#) depends to the set commment sign
data[""]["#0"]; // --> # this is a example to read and write comments
data[""]["#1"]; // --> # some additional information
data["Settings"]["#0"]; // --> here are the settings
data["Settings"]["#1"] = "# a new comment";
p.writeFile("comments.ini", data);

Output:

# this is a example to read and write comments
# some additional information

[Settings]
# here are the settings
# a new comment
path=/home/usr/dir

More examples are in the unit tests under test/unit.cpp

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Unit Tests

In subdir test are several unit tests written with the Catch2 C++ unit test library. To call the tests you can use GNU Make with make && make run

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License

MIT