configparser

This module provides the ConfigParser class which implements a basic configuration language in INI files. You can use this to write Python programs which can be customized by end users easily.

Creating configuration file programatically

Configuration file contains sections, each section contains keys and values. configparser module can be used to read and write config files. Creating the configuration file:-

import configparser
config = configparser.ConfigParser()
config['settings']={'resolution':'320x240',
                    'color':'blue'}
with open('example.ini', 'w') as configfile:
    config.write(configfile)

The output file contains below structure

[settings]
resolution = 320x240
color = blue

If you want to change particular field ,get the field and assign the value

settings=config['settings']
settings['color']='red'

Basic usage

In config.ini:

[DEFAULT]
debug = True
name = Test
password = password

[FILES]
path = /path/to/file

In Python:

from ConfigParser import ConfigParser
config = ConfigParser()

#Load configuration file
config.read("config.ini")

# Access the key "debug" in "DEFAULT" section
config.get("DEFAULT", "debug")
# Return 'True'

# Access the key "path" in "FILES" destion
config.get("FILES", "path")
# Return '/path/to/file'

Syntax

• Each new line contains a new key value pair separated by the = sign
• Keys can be separated in sections
• In the INI file, each section title is written between brackets: []

Remarks

All return values from ConfigParser.ConfigParser().get are strings. It can be converted to more common types thanks to eval