Re: [boost] Re: Preliminary submission: command line & config file library

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-01-15 19:57:57

At 10:43 AM 1/15/2003, Vladimir Prus wrote:

 >I don't know how to compare number of people who need command line to the 

 >number of people who *also* need config file. I suppose that as your
 >program grows bigger, you're likely to need config file too. The 
transition
 >should be simple.

I run into exactly that in production code.

At first, no one mentions the need for a config file.

Then, as more options are added over time, someone requests a config file.

I've got a little function that updates argc and argv to point to a new set 
of values containing the original, less the config file indirection arg, 
plus the args found in the config file (which are the same format as 
regular command line arguments.) Works like a charm; very simple, and 
everyone is happy. I usually echo the full set of args to cout as 
documentation of the actual args seen by the program.

That's a long way of supporting Vladimir's views above. People first need 
just command line arguments, then later realize a config file would be 
nice. And yes, the transition should be simple and transparent.

--Beman