README.txt

EasySettings
============

EasySettings allows you to easily save and retrieve simple application
settings. Handles non-string types like boolean, integer, long, list, as
well as normal string settings. No sections needed, just set(), get(),
and save().

There are `other ``*Settings``
objects <#jsonsettings-tomlsettings-and-yamlsettings>`__ that allow you
to use a standard format, such as:

-  `JSONSettings <#jsonsettings-example>`__ - ``UserDict`` that has
   methods to load/save config in JSON format. ``load_json_settings()``
   is the preferred method for loading config files.

-  `TOMLSettings <#tomlsettings-example>`__ - ``UserDict`` that has
   methods to load/save config in TOML format. ``load_toml_settings()``
   is the preferred method for loading config files.

-  `YAMLSettings <#yamlsettings-example>`__ - ``UserDict`` that has
   methods to load/save config in YAML format. ``load_yaml_settings()``
   is the preferred method for loading config files.

Examples
--------

Example of EasySettings basic usage:

.. code:: python

    #!/usr/bin/env python
    # --------------- Creation ----------------

    from easysettings import EasySettings

    settings = EasySettings("myconfigfile.conf")

    # configfile_exists() checks for existing config, and creates one if needed.
    # ** this function is called automatically now when a filename is passed to easysettings. **
    # if you wish to disable it, just do: settings = EasySettings() and set
    # settings.configfile later.

    # ------------- Basic Functions -----------
    # set without saving
    settings.set("username", "cjw")
    settings.set("firstrun", False)

    print settings.get("username")
    # this results in "cjw"

    # check if file is saved
    if not settings.is_saved():
        print "you haven't saved the settings to disk yet."

    # ...settings are still available even if they haven't
    #    been saved to disk

    # save
    settings.save()

    # you may also set & save in one line...
    settings.setsave("homedir", "/myuserdir")

Advanced:
~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

        # check if setting exists if you want
        if settings.has_option('username'):
            print "Yes, settings has 'username'"

        # list settings/options/values
        mysettings = settings.list_settings()
        myoptions = settings.list_options()
        myvalues = settings.list_values()

        # remove setting
        settings.remove('homedir')

        # clear all option names and values
        settings.clear()

        # clear all values, leave option names.
        settings.clear_values()

Comparison:
~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # compare two settings objects
    settings2 = EasySettings('myconfigfile2.conf')

    if settings.compare_opts(settings2):
        print "these have the same exact options, values may differ"
    if settings.compare_vals(settings2):
        print "these have the exact same values, options may differ"

    if settings == settings2:
        print "these have the exact same settings/values"
        # can also be written as settings.compare_settings(settings2)
        # if you like typing.. :)

    if settings > settings2:
        print "settings has more options than settings2"
    # all of them work ==, !=, <=, >= , > , <
    # ... the < > features are based on amount of options.
    #     the = features are based on option names and values.

Features
--------

EasySettings has the basic features you would expect out of a settings
module, and it's very easy to use. If your project needs to save simple
settings without the overhead and complication of other modules then
this is for you. Save, load, set, & get are very easy to grasp. The more
advanced features are there for you to use, but don't get in the way.
Settings, options, & values can be listed, searched, detected, removed,
& cleared.

EasySettings uses a dictionary to store settings before writing to disk,
so you can also access settings like a dictionary object using
``easysettings.settings``. The ``setsave()`` function will save every
time you set an option, and ``is_saved()`` will tell you whether or not
the file has been saved to disk yet. Code is documented for a newbie, so
a ``help('EasySettings')`` in the python console will get you started.

The search\_query argument in the list functions lets you find settings,
options, and values by search string:

.. code:: python

    mydebugoptions = settings.list_options('debug')
    # clear all debug values..
    settings.clear_values(mydebugoptions)

Non-string types were added, so any type that can be pickled can be used
as an option's value. This includes all the major types like int, long,
float, boolean, and list. All of these values will be retrieved as the
same type that was set:

.. code:: python

    es = EasySettings('myconfigfile.conf')

    # Boolean
    es.set("newuser", True)
    if es.get('newuser'):
        print "now you can use get() as a boolean."

    # Integer
    es.set('maxwidth', 560)
    halfwidth = es.get('maxwidth') / 2 # this math works.

    # Float
    es.set('soda', 1.59)
    f_withtax = es.get('soda') * 1.08

    # List
    es.set('users', ['cjw', 'joseph', 'amy']) # lists as settings, very convenient
    for suser in es.get('users'):
        print "retrieved user name: " + suser

    # i won't do them all, but if you can pickle it, you can use it with easysettings.

Errors are more descriptive and can be caught using their proper names:

.. code:: python

    try:
        es.get('option_with_a_possibly_illegal_value')
    except easysettings.esGetError as exErr:
        print "Error getting option!"
    except Exception as exEx:
        print "General Error!"

Automatic Creation:
-------------------

If you pass a file name to EasySettings(), the ``configfile_exists()``
function is called. This function will create a blank config file if the
file doesn't exist, otherwise it will return True. To use the 'automatic
creation' do this:

.. code:: python

    settings = EasySettings('myconfigfile.conf')
    # if file exists, all settings were loaded.
    # if file did not exist, it was created.
    # No permissions, disk-full, and other errors are still possible of course
    # depending on the machine, or the current directory permissions.

You can disable the 'automatic creation' features by not passing a file
name, and loading seperately like this:

.. code:: python

    settings = EasySettings()
    settings.configfile = 'myconfigfile.conf'
    # file has not been created or loaded.
    # file must exist before calling 'load_file'
    if settings.load_file():
        # all settings were loaded.
    else:
        # unable to load file for some reason.

This will work in the same way to disable the automatic creation:

.. code:: python

    settings = EasySettings()
    # file has not been created or loaded.
    # file 'myconfigfile.conf' must exist before calling load_file()
    if settings.load_file('myconfigfile.conf'):
        # file was loaded.
        # settings.configfile was set by the load_file() function
    else:
        # file could not be loaded.

To check if the file exists without creating it automatically you can do
this:

.. code:: python

    if not settings.configfile_exists(False):
        print 'config file does not exist, and was not created.'
    # I actually prefer the os.path.isfile() method if you're not going to automatically
    # create the file.
    import os.path
    if not os.path.isfile(settings.configfile):
        print 'config file does not exist, and was not created.'

JSONSettings, TOMLSettings, and YAMLSettings:
=============================================

All of the ``*Settings`` objects are simple ``UserDict``\ s that allow
loading and saving in the specified format. All keys and values must be
serializable using the specified format. If you don't already have the
``pyyaml`` and ``toml`` packages (not ``pytoml``), be sure to use
``pip install "easysettings[all]"`` to install those along with
EasySettings.

JSONSettings Example:
---------------------

.. code:: python

    from easysettings import JSONSettings

    # Starting from scratch:
    js = JSONSettings(filename='myfile.json')
    js['option'] = 'value'
    js.save()

.. code:: python

    from easysettings import JSONSettings, load_json_settings
    # Loading settings that may not exist yet:
    js = load_json_settings('myfile.json', default={'option': 'mydefault'})
    print(js['option'])

    # Set an item and save the settings.
    js.setsave('option2', 'value2', sort_keys=True)

    # Alternate load method, may raise FileNotFoundError.
    js = JSONSettings.from_file('myjsonfile.json')

The same goes for ``TOMLSettings`` and ``YAMLSettings``.

TOMLSettings Example:
---------------------

.. code:: python

    # `toml` (not `pytoml`) must be installed, though you don't have to import it.
    import toml

    from easysettings import TOMLSettings

    # Starting from scratch:
    ts = TOMLSettings(filename='myfile.toml')
    ts['option'] = 'value'
    ts.save()

.. code:: python

    # `toml` (not `pytoml`) must be installed, though you don't have to import it.
    from easysettings import TOMLSettings, load_toml_settings

    # Loading settings that may not exist yet:
    ts = load_toml_settings('myfile.toml', default={'option': 'mydefault'})
    print(ts['option'])

    # Set an item and save the settings.
    ts.setsave('option2', 'value2')

    # Alternate load method, may raise FileNotFoundError.
    ts = TOMLSettings.from_file('mytomlfile.toml')

YAMLSettings Example:
---------------------

.. code:: python

    # `pyyaml` must be installed, though you don't have to import it.
    from easysettings import YAMLSettings

    # Starting from scratch:
    ys = YAMLSettings(filename='myfile.yaml')
    ys['option'] = 'value'
    ys.save()

.. code:: python

    # `pyyaml` must be installed, though you don't have to import it.
    from easysettings import YAMLSettings, load_yaml_settings

    # Loading settings that may not exist yet:
    ys = load_yaml_settings('myfile.yaml', default={'option': 'mydefault'})
    print(ys['option'])

    # Set an item and save the settings.
    ys.setsave('option2', 'value2')

    # Alternate load method, may raise FileNotFoundError.
    ys = YAMLSettings.from_file('myyamlfile.yaml')

PyPi Package
============

Full PyPi package available at: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/EasySettings

Use pip to install EasySettings to be used globally. Ubuntu instructions
to install pip:

.. code:: bash

    sudo apt-get install python-pip

After that you should be able to install EasySettings by typing:

.. code:: bash

    pip install --user easysettings

If you are using Python 2.7, you will need to use EasySettings v3.3.3:

.. code:: bash

    pip install --user "easysettings==3.3.3"

Extras
------

If you would like to use the opt-in YAML and TOML features, you will
need the ``pyyaml`` and ``toml`` packages (not pytoml). These can be
requested individually, or together during the EasySettings
installation:

.. code:: bash

    # Install with the yaml dependency to use YAMLSettings:
    pip install --user "easysettings[yaml]"

    # Install with the toml dependency to use TOMLSettings:
    pip install --user "easysettings[toml]"

    # Install with both dependencies to use YAMLSettings and TOMLSettings:
    pip install --user "easysettings[all]"

Bug Fixes
---------

-  Version 4.0.1:

You can now merge files with existing settings instances. This allows
multiple config files to be used. The last call to ``add_file()`` will
overwrite existing values, and add new ones. If ``optional=False`` is
used, a ``FileNotFoundError`` will be raised for missing files. This
works for all settings classes ( ``EasySettings``, ``JSONSettings``,
etc.).

.. code:: python

    import os
    from easysettings import load_json_settings


    settings = (
        # Non-optional config file.
        load_json_settings('/usr/local/share/myapp/myapp.json')
        # Optional files that will overwrite existing values.
        .add_file(os.path.expanduser('~/.local/share/myapp/myapp.json'), optional=True)
        .add_file('myapp.json', optional=True)
    )

-  Version 4.0.0:

Python 2.7 is no longer supported. If you are using Python 2.7 you will
need to be specific when installing EasySettings. Version 3.3.3 was the
last version with Python 2.7 support. It will no longer receive bug
fixes or new features. If the latest version of EasySettings has broken
your application, uninstall it and install version 3.3.3:

.. code:: bash

    pip install 'easysettings==3.3.3'

    # Or, with TOML/YAML dependencies:
    pip install 'easysettings[all]==3.3.3'

You can use this in your ``requirements.txt``:

::

    easysettings == 3.3.3

You can still clone version 3.3.3 using the ``3.3.3`` branch:

.. code:: bash

    git clone -b 3.3.3 git@github.com:welbornprod/easysettings.git

-  Version 3.3.3:

Extra ``kwargs`` can be passed to the ``load()``/``from_file()`` methods
on ``YAMLSettings`` and ``TOMLSettings``. You have to use
``load_kwargs=kwargs`` when instantiating the class directly. It will
forward the ``kwargs`` to the loader later in this case. This allows a
``Loader`` to be specified when using the ``yaml`` settings, and
future-proofs EasySettings.

-  Version 3.3.2:

Extra dependencies for ``YAMLSettings``/``TOMLSettings`` can be
installed as extras by specifying them:

.. code:: bash

    pip install --user "easysettings[all]"

Source Code
===========

You can view the source for this package at:
https://github.com/welbornprod/easysettings

Website
=======

Be sure to visit http://welbornprod.com for more projects and
information from Welborn Productions.

Notes
=====

Since you've scrolled all the way down here, I thought I would tell you
that the ``EasySettings`` class itself was created a long time ago, when
I was still learning Python. I don't use that specific class anymore for
new projects. I prefer to use the other ``*Settings`` classes in the
``easysettings`` package. I've been fixing bugs and adding features in
all of the ``easysettings`` code for years now, so I don't want to say
that it's "abandoned" or "deprecated". I'm still using it with some of
my projects because there is no real reason to change them.

It was designed for me at the time (a beginner), so maybe it's still
useful for beginners, but the other classes are much cleaner and not so
"opinionated". They're also widely accepted config formats, where the
``EasySettings`` format (a mix of custom ``INI`` and Python's
``pickle``) is not. They raise exceptions instead of silently trying to
"do the right thing". If you only ever save string values,
``EasySettings`` is nice because it looks like an ``INI`` file with
helpers for values like ``"true"``, ``"false"``, ``"yes"``, ``"no"``,
``"1"``, and ``"0"`` (if you use ``get_bool()``).

If you start saving other types, you may want to switch to
``JSONSettings``, ``TOMLSettings``, or ``YAMLSettings`` (depending on
what your flavor is).

**It's better to be explicit than implicit.**

This is much cleaner:

.. code:: python

    from easysettings import load_json_settings

    config = load_json_settings(
        # File is created if needed.
        'myconfig.json',
        # config will have *at least* these keys/values.
        default={'key1': 'value', 'key2': 2600},
    )
    # It's just a dict.
    config['key3'] = config.get('key3', [1, 2, 3])

    # Next time this code runs you can start where you left off.
    config.save()

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Contributions are welcome in
all forms. `File an
issue <https://github.com/welbornprod/easysettings/issues>`__, or create
a `Pull Request <https://github.com/welbornprod/easysettings/pulls>`__
if you would like to see a new feature in EasySettings.