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1 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
3 // Purpose: interface of wxConfigBase
4 // Author: wxWidgets team
6 // Licence: wxWindows licence
7 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
12 wxConfigBase defines the basic interface of all config classes. It can not
13 be used by itself (it is an abstract base class) and you will always use
14 one of its derivations: wxFileConfig, wxRegConfig or any other.
16 However, usually you don't even need to know the precise nature of the
17 class you're working with but you would just use the wxConfigBase methods.
18 This allows you to write the same code regardless of whether you're working
19 with the registry under Windows or text-based config files under Unix.
20 To make writing the portable code even easier, wxWidgets provides a typedef
21 wxConfig which is mapped onto the native wxConfigBase implementation on the
22 given platform: i.e. wxRegConfig under Windows and wxFileConfig otherwise.
24 See @ref overview_config for a description of all features of this class.
26 It is highly recommended to use static functions Get() and/or Set(), so
27 please have a look at them.
29 Related Include Files:
31 @li @c <wx/config.h> - Let wxWidgets choose a wxConfig class for your
33 @li @c <wx/confbase.h> - Base config class.
34 @li @c <wx/fileconf.h> - wxFileConfig class.
35 @li @c <wx/msw/regconf.h> - wxRegConfig class, see also wxRegKey.
38 @section configbase_example Example
40 Here is how you would typically use this class:
43 // using wxConfig instead of writing wxFileConfig or wxRegConfig enhances
44 // portability of the code
45 wxConfig *config = new wxConfig("MyAppName");
48 if ( config->Read("LastPrompt", &str) ) {
49 // last prompt was found in the config file/registry and its value is
57 // another example: using default values and the full path instead of just
58 // key name: if the key is not found , the value 17 is returned
59 long value = config->ReadLong("/LastRun/CalculatedValues/MaxValue", 17);
61 // at the end of the program we would save everything back
62 config->Write("LastPrompt", str);
63 config->Write("/LastRun/CalculatedValues/MaxValue", value);
65 // the changes will be written back automatically
69 This basic example, of course, doesn't show all wxConfig features, such as
70 enumerating, testing for existence and deleting the entries and groups of
71 entries in the config file, its abilities to automatically store the
72 default values or expand the environment variables on the fly. However, the
73 main idea is that using this class is easy and that it should normally do
74 what you expect it to.
76 @note In the documentation of this class, the words "config file" also mean
77 "registry hive" for wxRegConfig and, generally speaking, might mean
78 any physical storage where a wxConfigBase-derived class stores its
82 @section configbase_static Static Functions
84 The static functions provided deal with the "default" config object.
85 Although its usage is not at all mandatory it may be convenient to use a
86 global config object instead of creating and deleting the local config
87 objects each time you need one (especially because creating a wxFileConfig
88 object might be a time consuming operation). In this case, you may create
89 this global config object in the very start of the program and Set() it as
90 the default. Then, from anywhere in your program, you may access it using
91 the Get() function. This global wxConfig object will be deleted by
92 wxWidgets automatically if it exists. Note that this implies that if you do
93 delete this object yourself (usually in wxApp::OnExit()) you must use
94 Set(@NULL) to prevent wxWidgets from deleting it the second time.
96 As it happens, you may even further simplify the procedure described above:
97 you may forget about calling Set(). When Get() is called and there is no
98 current object, it will create one using Create() function. To disable this
99 behaviour DontCreateOnDemand() is provided.
101 @note You should use either Set() or Get() because wxWidgets library itself
102 would take advantage of it and could save various information in it.
103 For example wxFontMapper or Unix version of wxFileDialog have the
104 ability to use wxConfig class.
107 @section configbase_paths Path Management
109 As explained in the @ref overview_config "config overview", the config
110 classes support a file system-like hierarchy of keys (files) and groups
111 (directories). As in the file system case, to specify a key in the config
112 class you must use a path to it. Config classes also support the notion of
113 the current group, which makes it possible to use the relative paths. To
114 clarify all this, here is an example (it is only for the sake of
115 demonstration, it doesn't do anything sensible!):
118 wxConfig *config = new wxConfig("FooBarApp");
120 // right now the current path is '/'
121 conf->Write("RootEntry", 1);
123 // go to some other place: if the group(s) don't exist, they will be created
124 conf->SetPath("/Group/Subgroup");
126 // create an entry in subgroup
127 conf->Write("SubgroupEntry", 3);
129 // '..' is understood
130 conf->Write("../GroupEntry", 2);
133 wxASSERT( conf->ReadLong("Subgroup/SubgroupEntry", 0) == 3 );
135 // use absolute path: it is allowed, too
136 wxASSERT( conf->ReadLong("/RootEntry", 0) == 1 );
139 It is highly recommended that you restore the path to its old value on
143 void foo(wxConfigBase *config)
145 wxString strOldPath = config->GetPath();
147 config->SetPath("/Foo/Data");
150 config->SetPath(strOldPath);
154 Otherwise the assert in the following example will surely fail (we suppose
155 here that the foo() function is the same as above except that it doesn’t
156 save and restore the path):
159 void bar(wxConfigBase *config)
161 config->Write("Test", 17);
165 // we're reading "/Foo/Data/Test" here! -1 will probably be returned...
166 wxASSERT( config->ReadLong("Test", -1) == 17 );
170 Finally, the path separator in wxConfigBase and derived classes is always
171 "/", regardless of the platform (i.e. it is not "\\" under Windows).
174 @section configbase_enumeration Enumeration
176 The enumeration functions allow you to enumerate all entries and groups in
177 the config file. All functions here return @false when there are no more
180 You must pass the same index to GetNext() and GetFirst() (don't modify it).
181 Please note that it is not the index of the current item (you will have
182 some great surprises with wxRegConfig if you assume this) and you shouldn't
183 even look at it: it is just a "cookie" which stores the state of the
184 enumeration. It can't be stored inside the class because it would prevent
185 you from running several enumerations simultaneously, that's why you must
188 Having said all this, enumerating the config entries/groups is very simple:
191 wxConfigBase *config = ...;
192 wxArrayString aNames;
194 // enumeration variables
198 // first enum all entries
199 bool bCont = config->GetFirstEntry(str, dummy);
203 bCont = GetConfig()->GetNextEntry(str, dummy);
206 // ... we have all entry names in aNames...
209 bCont = GetConfig()->GetFirstGroup(str, dummy);
213 bCont = GetConfig()->GetNextGroup(str, dummy);
216 // ... we have all group (and entry) names in aNames...
219 There are also functions to get the number of entries/subgroups without
220 actually enumerating them, but you will probably never need them.
223 @section configbase_keyaccess Key Access
225 The key access functions are the core of wxConfigBase class: they allow you
226 to read and write config file data. All Read() functions take a default
227 value which will be returned if the specified key is not found in the
230 Currently, supported types of data are: wxString, @c long, @c double,
231 @c bool, wxColour and any other types for which the functions
232 wxToString() and wxFromString() are defined.
234 Try not to read long values into string variables and vice versa:
235 although it just might work with wxFileConfig, you will get a system
236 error with wxRegConfig because in the Windows registry the different
237 types of entries are indeed used.
239 Final remark: the @a szKey parameter for all these functions can
240 contain an arbitrary path (either relative or absolute), not just the
244 In place of a single overloaded method name, wxPython implements the
246 - Read(key, default="") - Returns a string.
247 - ReadInt(key, default=0) - Returns an integer.
248 - ReadFloat(key, default=0.0) - Returns a floating point number.
249 - ReadBool(key, default=0) - Returns a boolean.
250 - Write(key, value) - Writes a string.
251 - WriteInt(key, value) - Writes an int.
252 - WriteFloat(key, value) - Writes a floating point number.
259 class wxConfigBase
: public wxObject
263 This is the default and only constructor of the wxConfigBase class, and
267 The application name. If this is empty, the class will normally use
268 wxApp::GetAppName() to set it. The application name is used in the
269 registry key on Windows, and can be used to deduce the local
270 filename parameter if that is missing.
272 The vendor name. If this is empty, it is assumed that no vendor
273 name is wanted, if this is optional for the current config class.
274 The vendor name is appended to the application name for
277 Some config classes require a local filename. If this is not
278 present, but required, the application name will be used instead.
279 @param globalFilename
280 Some config classes require a global filename. If this is not
281 present, but required, the application name will be used instead.
283 Can be one of @c wxCONFIG_USE_LOCAL_FILE and @c wxCONFIG_USE_GLOBAL_FILE.
284 @n The style interpretation depends on the config class and is ignored
285 by some implementations. For wxFileConfig, these styles determine
286 whether a local or global config file is created or used: if
287 @c wxCONFIG_USE_GLOBAL_FILE is used, then settings are read from the
288 global config file and if @c wxCONFIG_USE_LOCAL_FILE is used, settings
289 are read from and written to local config file (if they are both
290 set, global file is read first, then local file, overwriting global
291 settings). If the flag is present but the parameter is empty, the
292 parameter will be set to a default. If the parameter is present but
293 the style flag not, the relevant flag will be added to the style.
294 For wxRegConfig, the GLOBAL flag refers to the @c HKLM key while LOCAL
295 one is for the usual @c HKCU one.
296 @n For wxFileConfig you can also add @c wxCONFIG_USE_RELATIVE_PATH by
297 logically or'ing it to either of the _FILE options to tell
298 wxFileConfig to use relative instead of absolute paths.
299 @n On non-VMS Unix systems, the default local configuration file is
300 "~/.appname". However, this path may be also used as user data
301 directory (see wxStandardPaths::GetUserDataDir()) if the
302 application has several data files. In this case
303 @c wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR flag, which changes the default local
304 configuration file to "~/.appname/appname" should be used. Notice
305 that this flag is ignored if @a localFilename is provided.
306 @c wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR is new since wxWidgets version 2.8.2.
307 @n For wxFileConfig, you can also add
308 @c wxCONFIG_USE_NO_ESCAPE_CHARACTERS which will turn off character
309 escaping for the values of entries stored in the config file: for
310 example a foo key with some backslash characters will be stored as
311 "foo=C:\mydir" instead of the usual storage of "foo=C:\\mydir".
312 @n The @c wxCONFIG_USE_NO_ESCAPE_CHARACTERS style can be helpful if your
313 config file must be read or written to by a non-wxWidgets program
314 (which might not understand the escape characters). Note, however,
315 that if @c wxCONFIG_USE_NO_ESCAPE_CHARACTERS style is used, it is is
316 now your application's responsibility to ensure that there is no
317 newline or other illegal characters in a value, before writing that
320 This parameter is only used by wxFileConfig when compiled in
321 Unicode mode. It specifies the encoding in which the configuration
324 @remarks By default, environment variable expansion is on and recording
327 wxConfigBase(const wxString
& appName
= wxEmptyString
,
328 const wxString
& vendorName
= wxEmptyString
,
329 const wxString
& localFilename
= wxEmptyString
,
330 const wxString
& globalFilename
= wxEmptyString
,
332 const wxMBConv
& conv
= wxConvAuto());
335 Empty but ensures that dtor of all derived classes is virtual.
337 virtual ~wxConfigBase();
341 @name Path Management
343 See @ref configbase_paths
348 Retrieve the current path (always as absolute path).
350 virtual const wxString
& GetPath() const = 0;
353 Set current path: if the first character is '/', it is the absolute
354 path, otherwise it is a relative path. '..' is supported. If @a strPath
355 doesn't exist it is created.
357 virtual void SetPath(const wxString
& strPath
) = 0;
365 See @ref configbase_enumeration
370 Gets the first entry.
373 The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple consisting of the
374 continue flag, the value string, and the index for the next call.
378 In wxPerl this method takes no parameters and returns a 3-element
379 list (continue_flag, string, index_for_getnextentry).
382 virtual bool GetFirstEntry(wxString
& str
, long& index
) const = 0;
385 Gets the first group.
388 The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple consisting of the
389 continue flag, the value string, and the index for the next call.
393 In wxPerl this method takes no parameters and returns a 3-element
394 list (continue_flag, string, index_for_getnextentry).
397 virtual bool GetFirstGroup(wxString
& str
, long& index
) const = 0;
403 The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple consisting of the
404 continue flag, the value string, and the index for the next call.
408 In wxPerl this method only takes the @a index parameter and
409 returns a 3-element list (continue_flag, string,
410 index_for_getnextentry).
413 virtual bool GetNextEntry(wxString
& str
, long& index
) const = 0;
419 The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple consisting of the
420 continue flag, the value string, and the index for the next call.
424 In wxPerl this method only takes the @a index parameter and
425 returns a 3-element list (continue_flag, string,
426 index_for_getnextentry).
429 virtual bool GetNextGroup(wxString
& str
, long& index
) const = 0;
432 Get number of entries in the current group.
434 virtual size_t GetNumberOfEntries(bool bRecursive
= false) const = 0;
437 Get number of entries/subgroups in the current group, with or without
440 virtual size_t GetNumberOfGroups(bool bRecursive
= false) const = 0;
455 @name Tests of Existence
460 @return @true if either a group or an entry with a given name exists.
462 bool Exists(const wxString
& strName
) const;
465 Returns the type of the given entry or @e Unknown if the entry doesn't
466 exist. This function should be used to decide which version of Read()
467 should be used because some of wxConfig implementations will complain
468 about type mismatch otherwise: e.g., an attempt to read a string value
469 from an integer key with wxRegConfig will fail.
471 virtual wxConfigBase::EntryType
GetEntryType(const wxString
& name
) const;
474 @return @true if the entry by this name exists.
476 virtual bool HasEntry(const wxString
& strName
) const = 0;
479 @return @true if the group by this name exists.
481 virtual bool HasGroup(const wxString
& strName
) const = 0;
487 @name Miscellaneous Functions
492 Returns the application name.
494 wxString
GetAppName() const;
497 Returns the vendor name.
499 wxString
GetVendorName() const;
507 See @ref configbase_keyaccess
512 Permanently writes all changes (otherwise, they're only written from
513 object's destructor).
515 virtual bool Flush(bool bCurrentOnly
= false) = 0;
518 Read a string from the key, returning @true if the value was read. If
519 the key was not found, @a str is not changed.
522 Not supported by wxPerl.
525 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, wxString
* str
) const;
527 Read a string from the key. The default value is returned if the key
530 @return @true if value was really read, @false if the default was used.
533 Not supported by wxPerl.
536 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, wxString
* str
,
537 const wxString
& defaultVal
) const;
539 Another version of Read(), returning the string value directly.
542 In wxPerl, this can be called as:
543 - Read(key): returns the empty string if no key is found
544 - Read(key, default): returns the default value if no key is found
547 const wxString
Read(const wxString
& key
,
548 const wxString
& defaultVal
) const;
550 Reads a long value, returning @true if the value was found. If the
551 value was not found, @a l is not changed.
554 Not supported by wxPerl.
557 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, long* l
) const;
559 Reads a long value, returning @true if the value was found. If the
560 value was not found, @a defaultVal is used instead.
563 In wxPerl, this can be called as:
564 - ReadInt(key): returns the 0 if no key is found
565 - ReadInt(key, default): returns the default value if no key is found
568 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, long* l
,
569 long defaultVal
) const;
571 Reads a double value, returning @true if the value was found. If the
572 value was not found, @a d is not changed.
575 Not supported by wxPerl.
578 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, double* d
) const;
580 Reads a double value, returning @true if the value was found. If the
581 value was not found, @a defaultVal is used instead.
584 In wxPerl, this can be called as:
585 - ReadFloat(key): returns the 0.0 if no key is found
586 - ReadFloat(key, default): returns the default value if no key is found
589 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, double* d
,
590 double defaultVal
) const;
593 Reads a float value, returning @true if the value was found.
595 With the second overload, if the value was not found, @a defaultVal is
598 Notice that the value is read as a double but must be in a valid range
599 for floats for the function to return @true.
604 Not supported by wxPerl.
608 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, float* f
) const;
609 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, float* f
, float defaultVal
) const;
613 Reads a float value, returning @true if the value was found. If the
614 value was not found, @a b is not changed.
619 Not supported by wxPerl.
622 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, bool* b
) const;
624 Reads a bool value, returning @true if the value was found. If the
625 value was not found, @a defaultVal is used instead.
628 In wxPerl, this can be called as:
629 - ReadBool(key): returns false if no key is found
630 - ReadBool(key, default): returns the default value if no key is found
633 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, bool* d
,
634 bool defaultVal
) const;
636 Reads a binary block, returning @true if the value was found. If the
637 value was not found, @a buf is not changed.
639 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, wxMemoryBuffer
* buf
) const;
641 Reads a value of type T, for which function wxFromString() is defined,
642 returning @true if the value was found. If the value was not found,
643 @a value is not changed.
645 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, T
* value
) const;
647 Reads a value of type T, for which function wxFromString() is defined,
648 returning @true if the value was found. If the value was not found,
649 @a defaultVal is used instead.
651 bool Read(const wxString
& key
, T
* value
,
652 const T
& defaultVal
) const;
655 Reads a bool value from the key and returns it. @a defaultVal is
656 returned if the key is not found.
658 bool ReadBool(const wxString
& key
, bool defaultVal
) const;
661 Reads a double value from the key and returns it. @a defaultVal is
662 returned if the key is not found.
664 double ReadDouble(const wxString
& key
, double defaultVal
) const;
667 Reads a long value from the key and returns it. @a defaultVal is
668 returned if the key is not found.
670 long ReadLong(const wxString
& key
, long defaultVal
) const;
673 Reads a value of type T (for which the function wxFromString() must be
674 defined) from the key and returns it. @a defaultVal is returned if the
677 T
ReadObject(const wxString
& key
, T
const& defaultVal
) const;
680 Writes the wxString value to the config file and returns @true on
683 bool Write(const wxString
& key
, const wxString
& value
);
685 Writes the long value to the config file and returns @true on success.
687 bool Write(const wxString
& key
, long value
);
689 Writes the double value to the config file and returns @true on
692 Notice that if floating point numbers are saved as strings (as is the
693 case with the configuration files used by wxFileConfig), this function
694 uses the C locale for writing out the number, i.e. it will always use a
695 period as the decimal separator, irrespectively of the current locale.
696 This behaviour is new since wxWidgets 2.9.1 as the current locale was
697 used before, but the change should be transparent because both C and
698 current locales are tried when reading the numbers back.
700 bool Write(const wxString
& key
, double value
);
702 Writes the bool value to the config file and returns @true on success.
704 bool Write(const wxString
& key
, bool value
);
706 Writes the wxMemoryBuffer value to the config file and returns @true on
709 bool Write(const wxString
& key
, const wxMemoryBuffer
& buf
);
711 Writes the specified value to the config file and returns @true on
712 success. The function wxToString() must be defined for type @e T.
714 bool Write(const wxString
& key
, T
const& buf
);
720 @name Rename Entries/Groups
722 These functions allow renaming entries or subgroups of the current
723 group. They will return @false on error, typically because either the
724 entry/group with the original name doesn't exist, because the
725 entry/group with the new name already exists or because the function is
726 not supported in this wxConfig implementation.
731 Renames an entry in the current group. The entries names (both the old
732 and the new one) shouldn't contain backslashes, i.e. only simple names
733 and not arbitrary paths are accepted by this function.
735 @return @false if @a oldName doesn't exist or if @a newName already
738 virtual bool RenameEntry(const wxString
& oldName
,
739 const wxString
& newName
) = 0;
742 Renames a subgroup of the current group. The subgroup names (both the
743 old and the new one) shouldn't contain backslashes, i.e. only simple
744 names and not arbitrary paths are accepted by this function.
746 @return @false if @a oldName doesn't exist or if @a newName already
749 virtual bool RenameGroup(const wxString
& oldName
,
750 const wxString
& newName
) = 0;
756 @name Delete Entries/Groups
758 These functions delete entries and/or groups of entries from the config
759 file. DeleteAll() is especially useful if you want to erase all traces
760 of your program presence: for example, when you uninstall it.
765 Delete the whole underlying object (disk file, registry key, ...).
766 Primarly for use by uninstallation routine.
768 virtual bool DeleteAll() = 0;
771 Deletes the specified entry and the group it belongs to if it was the
772 last key in it and the second parameter is @true.
774 virtual bool DeleteEntry(const wxString
& key
,
775 bool bDeleteGroupIfEmpty
= true) = 0;
778 Delete the group (with all subgroups). If the current path is under the
779 group being deleted it is changed to its deepest still existing
780 component. E.g. if the current path is @c "/A/B/C/D" and the group @c C
781 is deleted, the path becomes @c "/A/B".
783 virtual bool DeleteGroup(const wxString
& key
) = 0;
791 Some aspects of wxConfigBase behaviour can be changed during run-time.
792 The first of them is the expansion of environment variables in the
793 string values read from the config file: for example, if you have the
794 following in your config file:
797 # config file for my program
798 UserData = $HOME/data
800 # the following syntax is valud only under Windows
801 UserData = %windir%\\data.dat
804 The call to Read("UserData") will return something like
805 @c "/home/zeitlin/data" on linux for example.
807 Although this feature is very useful, it may be annoying if you read a
808 value which containts '$' or '%' symbols (% is used for environment
809 variables expansion under Windows) which are not used for environment
810 variable expansion. In this situation you may call
811 SetExpandEnvVars(@false) just before reading this value and
812 SetExpandEnvVars(@true) just after. Another solution would be to prefix
813 the offending symbols with a backslash.
818 Returns @true if we are expanding environment variables in key values.
820 bool IsExpandingEnvVars() const;
823 Returns @true if we are writing defaults back to the config file.
825 bool IsRecordingDefaults() const;
828 Determine whether we wish to expand environment variables in key
831 void SetExpandEnvVars(bool bDoIt
= true);
834 Sets whether defaults are recorded to the config file whenever an
835 attempt to read the value which is not present in it is done.
837 If on (default is off) all default values for the settings used by the
838 program are written back to the config file. This allows the user to
839 see what config options may be changed and is probably useful only for
842 void SetRecordDefaults(bool bDoIt
= true);
848 Create a new config object and sets it as the current one.
850 This function will create the most appropriate implementation of
851 wxConfig available for the current platform. By default this means that
852 the system registry will be used for storing the configuration
853 information under MSW and a file under the user home directory (see
854 wxStandardPaths::GetUserConfigDir()) elsewhere.
856 If you prefer to use the configuration files everywhere, you can define
857 @c wxUSE_CONFIG_NATIVE to 0 when compiling wxWidgets. Or you can simply
858 always create wxFileConfig explicitly.
860 Finally, if you want to create a custom wxConfig subclass you may
861 change this function behaviour by overriding wxAppTraits::CreateConfig()
862 to create it. An example when this could be useful could be an
863 application which could be installed either normally (in which case the
864 default behaviour of using wxRegConfig is appropriate) or in a
865 "portable" way in which case a wxFileConfig with a file in the program
866 directory would be used and the choice would be done in CreateConfig()
869 static wxConfigBase
* Create();
872 Calling this function will prevent @e Get() from automatically creating
873 a new config object if the current one is @NULL. It might be useful to
874 call it near the program end to prevent "accidental" creation of a new
877 static void DontCreateOnDemand();
880 Get the current config object. If there is no current object and
881 @a CreateOnDemand is @true, this creates one (using Create()) unless
882 DontCreateOnDemand() was called previously.
884 static wxConfigBase
* Get(bool CreateOnDemand
= true);
887 Sets the config object as the current one, returns the pointer to the
888 previous current object (both the parameter and returned value may be
891 static wxConfigBase
* Set(wxConfigBase
* pConfig
);