\section{\class{wxConfigBase}}\label{wxconfigbase}
wxConfigBase class defines the basic interface of all config classes. It can
-not be used by itself (it's an abstract base class) and you'll always use one
-of its derivations: \helpref{wxIniConfig}{wxiniconfig},
-\helpref{wxFileConfig}{wxfileconfig}, \helpref{wxRegConfig}{wxregconfig} or
-any other.
+not be used by itself (it is an abstract base class) and you will always use one
+of its derivations: wxIniConfig, wxFileConfig, wxRegConfig or any other.
However, usually you don't even need to know the precise nature of the class
you're working with but you would just use the wxConfigBase methods. This
See \helpref{config overview}{wxconfigoverview} for the descriptions of all
features of this class.
+It is highly recommended to use static functions {\it Get()} and/or {\it Set()},
+so please have a \helpref{look at them.}{wxconfigstaticfunctions}
+
\wxheading{Derived from}
No base class
+\wxheading{Include files}
+
+<wx/config.h> (to let wxWindows choose a wxConfig class for your platform)\\
+<wx/confbase.h> (base config class)\\
+<wx/fileconf.h> (wxFileconfig class)\\
+<wx/msw/regconf.h> (wxRegConfig class)\\
+<wx/msw/iniconf.h> (wxIniConfig class)
+
\wxheading{Example}
Here is how you would typically use this class:
// another example: using default values and the full path instead of just
// key name: if the key is not found , the value 17 is returned
- long value = config->Read("/LastRun/CalculatedValues/MaxValue", -1);
+ long value = config->Read("/LastRun/CalculatedValues/MaxValue", 17);
...
...
...
\latexignore{\rtfignore{\wxheading{Function groups}}}
-\membersection{Static functions}
+\membersection{Static functions}\label{wxconfigstaticfunctions}
These functions deal with the "default" config object. Although its usage is
not at all mandatory it may be convenient to use a global config object
one (especially because creating a wxFileConfig object might be a time
consuming operation). In this case, you may create this global config object
in the very start of the program and {\it Set()} it as the default. Then, from
-anywhere in your program, you may access it using the {\it Get()} function. Of
-course, you should delete it on the program termination (otherwise, not only a
-memory leak will result, but even more importantly the changes won't be
-written back!).
+anywhere in your program, you may access it using the {\it Get()} function.
+Note that wxWindows will delete this config object for you during the program
+shutdown (from \helpref{wxApp::OnExit}{wxapponexit} to be precise) but you can
+also do it yourself earlier if needed.
As it happens, you may even further simplify the procedure described above:
you may forget about calling {\it Set()}. When {\it Get()} is called and there
is no current object, it will create one using {\it Create()} function. To
disable this behaviour {\it DontCreateOnDemand()} is provided.
+{\bf Note:} You should use either {\it Set()} or {\it Get()} because wxWindows
+library itself would take advantage of it and could save various information
+in it. For example \helpref{wxFontMapper}{wxfontmapper} or Unix version
+of \helpref{wxFileDialog}{wxfiledialog} have ability to use wxConfig class.
+
\helpref{Set}{wxconfigbaseset}\\
\helpref{Get}{wxconfigbaseget}\\
\helpref{Create}{wxconfigbasecreate}\\
As in the file system case, to specify a key in the config class you must use
a path to it. Config classes also support the notion of the current group,
which makes it possible to use the relative paths. To clarify all this, here
-is an example (it's only for the sake of demonstration, it doesn't do anything
+is an example (it is only for the sake of demonstration, it doesn't do anything
sensible!):
\begin{verbatim}
// create an entry in subgroup
conf->Write("SubgroupEntry", 3);
-
+
// '..' is understood
conf->Write("../GroupEntry", 2);
conf->SetPath("..");
wxASSERT( conf->Read("Subgroup/SubgroupEntry", 0l) == 3 );
- // use absolute path: it's allowed, too
+ // use absolute path: it is allowed, too
wxASSERT( conf->Read("/RootEntry", 0l) == 1 );
\end{verbatim}
-{\it Warning}: it's probably a good idea to always restore the path to its
+{\it Warning}: it is probably a good idea to always restore the path to its
old value on function exit:
\begin{verbatim}
void bar(wxConfigBase *config)
{
config->Write("Test", 17);
-
+
foo(config);
// we're reading "/Foo/Data/Test" here! -1 will probably be returned...
\end{verbatim}
Finally, the path separator in wxConfigBase and derived classes is always '/',
-regardless of the platform (i.e. it's {\bf not} '$\backslash\backslash$' under Windows).
+regardless of the platform (i.e. it is {\bf not} '$\backslash\backslash$' under Windows).
\helpref{SetPath}{wxconfigbasesetpath}\\
\helpref{GetPath}{wxconfigbasegetpath}
config file. All functions here return FALSE when there are no more items.
You must pass the same index to GetNext and GetFirst (don't modify it).
-Please note that it's {\bf not} the index of the current item (you will have
-some great surprizes with wxRegConfig if you assume this) and you shouldn't
-even look at it: it's just a "cookie" which stores the state of the
+Please note that it is {\bf not} the index of the current item (you will have
+some great surprises with wxRegConfig if you assume this) and you shouldn't
+even look at it: it is just a "cookie" which stores the state of the
enumeration. It can't be stored inside the class because it would prevent you
from running several enumerations simultaneously, that's why you must pass it
explicitly.
\helpref{HasGroup}{wxconfigbasehasgroup}\\
\helpref{HasEntry}{wxconfigbasehasentry}\\
-\helpref{Exists}{wxconfigbaseexists}
+\helpref{Exists}{wxconfigbaseexists}\\
+\helpref{GetEntryType}{wxconfigbasegetentrytype}
-\membersection{Miscellaneous accessors}
+\membersection{Miscellaneous functions}
-\helpref{SetAppName}{wxconfigbasesetappname}\\
\helpref{GetAppName}{wxconfigbasegetappname}\\
-\helpref{SetVendorName}{wxconfigbasesetvendorname}\\
-\helpref{GetVendorName}{wxconfigbasegetvendorname}
+\helpref{GetVendorName}{wxconfigbasegetvendorname}\\
+\helpref{SetUmask}{wxfileconfigsetumask}
\membersection{Key access}
change in the near future). To work with other types: for {\it int} or {\it
bool} you can work with function taking/returning {\it long} and just use the
casts. Better yet, just use {\it long} for all variables which you're going to
-save in the config file: chances are that \verb$sizeof(bool) == sizeof(int) == sizeof(long)$ anyhow on your system. For {\it float}, {\it double} and, in
+save in the config file: chances are that {\tt sizeof(bool) == sizeof(int) == sizeof(long)} anyhow on your system. For {\it float}, {\it double} and, in
general, any other type you'd have to translate them to/from string
representation and use string functions.
\helpref{Write}{wxconfigbasewrite}\\
\helpref{Flush}{wxconfigbaseflush}
+\membersection{Rename entries/groups}
+
+The functions in this section allow to rename entries or subgroups of the
+current group. They will return FALSE on error. typically because either the
+entry/group with the original name doesn't exist, because the entry/group with
+the new name already exists or because the function is not supported in this
+wxConfig implementation.
+
+\helpref{RenameEntry}{wxconfigbaserenameentry}\\
+\helpref{RenameGroup}{wxconfigbaserenamegroup}
+
\membersection{Delete entries/groups}
The functions in this section delete entries and/or groups of entries from the
# the following syntax is valud only under Windows
UserData = %windir%\\data.dat
\end{verbatim}
-
-the call to \verb$config->Read("UserData")$ will return something like
-\verb$"/home/zeitlin/data"$ if you're lucky enough to run a Linux system ;-)
+% $ % help EMACS syntax highlighting...
+the call to {\tt config->Read("UserData")} will return something like
+{\tt "/home/zeitlin/data"} if you're lucky enough to run a Linux system ;-)
Although this feature is very useful, it may be annoying if you read a value
which containts '\$' or '\%' symbols (\% is used for environment variables
The following functions control this option:
\helpref{IsExpandingEnvVars}{wxconfigbaseisexpandingenvvars}\\
-\helpref{SetExpandingEnvVars}{wxconfigbasesetexpandingenvvars}\\
+\helpref{SetExpandEnvVars}{wxconfigbasesetexpandenvvars}\\
\helpref{SetRecordDefaults}{wxconfigbasesetrecorddefaults}\\
\helpref{IsRecordingDefaults}{wxconfigbaseisrecordingdefaults}
a local or global config file is created or used. If the flag is present but
the parameter is empty, the parameter will be set to a default. If the
parameter is present but the style flag not, the relevant flag will be added
-to the style.}
+to the style. For wxFileConfig you can also add wxCONFIG\_USE\_RELATIVE\_PATH
+by logicaly or'ing it to either of the \_FILE options to tell wxFileConfig to
+use relative instead of absolute paths. }
\wxheading{Remarks}
\membersection{wxConfigBase::DeleteEntry}\label{wxconfigbasedeleteentry}
-\func{bool}{DeleteEntry}{\param{const wxString\& }{ key}, \param{bool}{
-bDeleteGroupIfEmpty = TRUE}}
+\func{bool}{DeleteEntry}{\param{const wxString\& }{ key}, \param{bool}{ bDeleteGroupIfEmpty = TRUE}}
Deletes the specified entry and the group it belongs to if it was the last key
in it and the second parameter is true.
\membersection{wxConfigBase::Get}\label{wxconfigbaseget}
-\func{wxConfigBase *}{Get}{\void}
+\func{static wxConfigBase *}{Get}{\param{bool }{CreateOnDemand = TRUE}}
-Get the current config object. If there is no current object, creates one
+Get the current config object. If there is no current object and
+{\it CreateOnDemand} is TRUE, creates one
(using {\it Create}) unless DontCreateOnDemand was called previously.
\membersection{wxConfigBase::GetAppName}\label{wxconfigbasegetappname}
Returns the application name.
+\membersection{wxConfigBase::GetEntryType}\label{wxconfigbasegetentrytype}
+
+\constfunc{enum wxConfigBase::EntryType}{GetEntryType}{\param{const wxString\& }{name}}
+
+Returns the type of the given entry or {\it Unknown} if the entry doesn't
+exist. This function should be used to decide which version of Read() should
+be used because some of wxConfig implementations will complain about type
+mismatch otherwise: e.g., an attempt to read a string value from an integer
+key with wxRegConfig will fail.
+
+The result is an element of enum EntryType:
+
+\begin{verbatim}
+ enum EntryType
+ {
+ Unknown,
+ String,
+ Boolean,
+ Integer,
+ Float
+ };
+\end{verbatim}
+
\membersection{wxConfigBase::GetFirstGroup}\label{wxconfigbasegetfirstgroup}
-\constfunc{bool}{GetFirstGroup}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{
-index}}
+\constfunc{bool}{GetFirstGroup}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{ index}}
Gets the first group.
+\pythonnote{The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple
+consisting of the continue flag, the value string, and the index for
+the next call.}
+
+\perlnote{In wxPerl this method takes no arguments and returns a 3-element
+list {\tt ( continue, str, index )}.}
+
\membersection{wxConfigBase::GetFirstEntry}\label{wxconfigbasegetfirstentry}
-\constfunc{bool}{GetFirstEntry}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{
-index}}
+\constfunc{bool}{GetFirstEntry}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{ index}}
Gets the first entry.
+\pythonnote{The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple
+consisting of the continue flag, the value string, and the index for
+the next call.}
+
+\perlnote{In wxPerl this method takes no arguments and returns a 3-element
+list {\tt ( continue, str, index )}.}
+
\membersection{wxConfigBase::GetNextGroup}\label{wxconfigbasegetnextgroup}
-\constfunc{bool}{GetNextGroup}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{
-index}}
+\constfunc{bool}{GetNextGroup}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{ index}}
Gets the next group.
+\pythonnote{The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple
+consisting of the continue flag, the value string, and the index for
+the next call.}
+
+\perlnote{In wxPerl this method only takes the {\tt index} parameter
+and returns a 3-element list {\tt ( continue, str, index )}.}
+
\membersection{wxConfigBase::GetNextEntry}\label{wxconfigbasegetnextentry}
-\constfunc{bool}{GetNextEntry}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{
-index}}
+\constfunc{bool}{GetNextEntry}{\param{wxString\& }{str}, \param{long\&}{ index}}
Gets the next entry.
+\pythonnote{The wxPython version of this method returns a 3-tuple
+consisting of the continue flag, the value string, and the index for
+the next call.}
+
+\perlnote{In wxPerl this method only takes the {\tt index} parameter
+and returns a 3-element list {\tt ( continue, str, index )}.}
+
\membersection{wxConfigBase::GetNumberOfEntries}\label{wxconfigbasegetnumberofentries}
\constfunc{uint }{GetNumberOfEntries}{\param{bool }{bRecursive = FALSE}}
\membersection{wxConfigBase::IsRecordingDefaults}\label{wxconfigbaseisrecordingdefaults}
-\func{bool}{IsRecordingDefaults}{\void} const
+\constfunc{bool}{IsRecordingDefaults}{\void}
Returns TRUE if we are writing defaults back to the config file.
\membersection{wxConfigBase::Read}\label{wxconfigbaseread}
-\constfunc{bool}{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{key}, \param{wxString*}{
-str}}
+\constfunc{bool}{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{key}, \param{wxString*}{ str}}
Read a string from the key, returning TRUE if the value was read. If the key
was not found, {\it str} is not changed.
-\constfunc{bool}{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{key}, \param{wxString*}{
-str}, \param{const wxString\& }{defaultVal}}
+\constfunc{bool}{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{key}, \param{wxString*}{ str}, \param{const wxString\& }{defaultVal}}
Read a string from the key. The default value is returned if the key was not
found.
Reads a long value, returning TRUE if the value was found. If the value was
not found, {\it defaultVal} is used instead.
-\constfunc{long }{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{key}, \param{long}{
-defaultVal}}
+\constfunc{long }{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{key}, \param{long}{ defaultVal}}
Reads a long value from the key and returns it. {\it defaultVal} is returned
if the key is not found.
NB: writing
-{\small \begin{verbatim} conf->Read("key", 0); \end{verbatim} }
+{\small
+\begin{verbatim}
+ conf->Read("key", 0);
+\end{verbatim}
+}
won't work because the call is ambiguous: compiler can not choose between two
{\it Read} functions. Instead, write:
-{\small \begin{verbatim} conf->Read("key", 0l); \end{verbatim} }
+{\small
+\begin{verbatim}
+ conf->Read("key", 0l);
+\end{verbatim}
+}
\constfunc{bool}{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{ key}, \param{double*}{ d}}
not found, {\it d} is not changed.
\constfunc{bool}{Read}{\param{const wxString\& }{ key}, \param{double*}{ d},
-\param{double}{ defaultVal}}
+ \param{double}{ defaultVal}}
Reads a double value, returning TRUE if the value was found. If the value was
not found, {\it defaultVal} is used instead.
Reads a bool value, returning TRUE if the value was found. If the value was
not found, {\it defaultVal} is used instead.
-\membersection{wxConfigBase::Set}\label{wxconfigbaseset}
+\pythonnote{In place of a single overloaded method name, wxPython
+implements the following methods:\par
+\indented{2cm}{\begin{twocollist}
+\twocolitem{{\bf Read(key, default="")}}{Returns a string.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf ReadInt(key, default=0)}}{Returns an int.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf ReadFloat(key, default=0.0)}}{Returns a floating point number.}
+\end{twocollist}}
+}
+
+\perlnote{In place of a single overloaded method, wxPerl uses:\par
+\indented{2cm}{\begin{twocollist}
+\twocolitem{{\bf Read(key, default="")}}{Returns a string}
+\twocolitem{{\bf ReadInt(key, default=0)}}{Returns an integer}
+\twocolitem{{\bf ReadFloat(key, default=0.0)}}{Returns a floating point number}
+\twocolitem{{\bf ReadBool(key, default=0)}}{Returns a boolean}
+\end{twocollist}
+}}
-\func{wxConfigBase *}{Set}{\param{wxConfigBase *}{pConfig}}
+\membersection{wxConfigBase::RenameEntry}\label{wxconfigbaserenameentry}
-Sets the config object as the current one, returns the pointer to the previous
-current object (both the parameter and returned value may be NULL)
+\func{bool}{RenameEntry}{\param{const wxString\& }{ oldName}, \param{const wxString\& }{ newName}}
+
+Renames an entry in the current group. The entries names (both the old and
+the new one) shouldn't contain backslashes, i.e. only simple names and not
+arbitrary paths are accepted by this function.
-\membersection{wxConfigBase::SetAppName}\label{wxconfigbasesetappname}
+Returns FALSE if the {\it oldName} doesn't exist or if {\it newName} already
+exists.
-\func{void }{SetAppName}{\param{const wxString\&}{ appName}}
+\membersection{wxConfigBase::RenameGroup}\label{wxconfigbaserenamegroup}
-Sets the application name.
+\func{bool}{RenameGroup}{\param{const wxString\& }{ oldName}, \param{const wxString\& }{ newName}}
-\membersection{wxConfigBase::SetExpandingEnvVars}\label{wxconfigbasesetexpandingenvvars}
+Renames a subgroup of the current group. The subgroup names (both the old and
+the new one) shouldn't contain backslashes, i.e. only simple names and not
+arbitrary paths are accepted by this function.
+
+Returns FALSE if the {\it oldName} doesn't exist or if {\it newName} already
+exists.
+
+\membersection{wxConfigBase::Set}\label{wxconfigbaseset}
+
+\func{static wxConfigBase *}{Set}{\param{wxConfigBase *}{pConfig}}
+
+Sets the config object as the current one, returns the pointer to the previous
+current object (both the parameter and returned value may be NULL)
+
+\membersection{wxConfigBase::SetExpandEnvVars}\label{wxconfigbasesetexpandenvvars}
\func{void}{SetExpandEnvVars }{\param{bool }{bDoIt = TRUE}}
\func{void}{SetPath}{\param{const wxString\& }{strPath}}
-Set current path: if the first character is '/', it's the absolute path,
-otherwise it's a relative path. '..' is supported. If the strPath doesn't
+Set current path: if the first character is '/', it is the absolute path,
+otherwise it is a relative path. '..' is supported. If the strPath doesn't
exist it is created.
\membersection{wxConfigBase::SetRecordDefaults}\label{wxconfigbasesetrecorddefaults}
\func{void}{SetRecordDefaults}{\param{bool }{bDoIt = TRUE}}
-Sets whether defaults are written back to the config file.
+Sets whether defaults are recorded to the config file whenever an attempt to
+read read the value which is not present in it is done.
+
+If on (default is off) all default values for the settings used by the program
+are written back to the config file. This allows the user to see what config
+options may be changed and is probably useful only for wxFileConfig.
-If on (default is off) all default values are written back to the config file.
-This allows the user to see what config options may be changed and is probably
-useful only for wxFileConfig.
+\membersection{wxConfigBase::SetUmask}\label{wxfileconfigsetumask}
-\membersection{wxConfigBase::SetVendorName}\label{wxconfigbasesetvendorname}
+\func{void}{SetUmask}{\param{int }{mode}}
-\func{void}{SetVendorName}{\param{const wxString\&}{ vendorName}}
+{\bf NB:} this function is not in the base wxConfigBase class but is only
+implemented in wxFileConfig. Moreover, this function is Unix-specific and
+doesn't do anything on other platforms.
-Sets the vendor name.
+SetUmask() allows to set the mode to be used for the config file creation.
+For example, to create a config file which is not readable by other users
+(useful if it stores some sensitive information, such as passwords), you
+should do {\tt SetUmask(0077)}.
\membersection{wxConfigBase::Write}\label{wxconfigbasewrite}
These functions write the specified value to the config file and return TRUE
on success.
-
+\pythonnote{In place of a single overloaded method name, wxPython
+implements the following methods:\par
+\indented{2cm}{\begin{twocollist}
+\twocolitem{{\bf Write(key, value)}}{Writes a string.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf WriteInt(key, value)}}{Writes an int.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf WriteFloat(key, value)}}{Writes a floating point number.}
+\end{twocollist}}
+}
+
+\perlnote{In place of a single overloaded method, wxPerl uses:\par
+\indented{2cm}{\begin{twocollist}
+\twocolitem{{\bf Write(key, value)}}{Writes a string}
+\twocolitem{{\bf WriteInt(key, value)}}{Writes an integer}
+\twocolitem{{\bf WriteFloat(key, value)}}{Writes a floating point number}
+\twocolitem{{\bf WriteBool(key, value)}}{Writes a boolean}
+\end{twocollist}
+}}