configparser

Introduction#

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.

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

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'

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'