EasySettings
============

EasySettings allows you to easily save and retrieve simple application
settings. Handles non-string types like boolean, integer, long, list, as
well as normal string settings. No sections needed, just set(), get(),
and save().

Bug Fixes
=========

Version 1.9.2: Package changes. Switched README to automatically convert
markdown to rst using pypandoc.

Version 1.8.8: Small changes were made to help compatibility issues
between the old and new package layouts. You can still do:
``from easysettings import easysettings`` and then
``easysettings.easysettings`` if you have to. The new method is much
better though.

Version 1.8.7: Changed package layout. Instead of
``from easysettings.easysettings import easysettings``, the simple form
of \`from easysettings import EasySettings' can be used. The main class
has been given a proper class name.

Version 1.8.6: Fixed small bug in ``setsave()`` where
``setsave('opt', False)`` caused errors.

Version 1.8.3: Non-string types were not being loaded or saved properly.
All issues are resolved. The method has been enhanced so debug printing
will be 'prettier'. Example of 'debug printing' settings:

.. code:: python

    from easysettings import easysettings
    settings = EasySettings('myconfigfile.conf')
    settings.set('option', True)
    settings.set('option2', ['cjw', 'amy', 'joseph'])
    print settings
    # this will now print as:
    #   {'option': True, 'option2', ['cjw', 'amy', 'joseph']}
    # instead of pickle's messed up looking strings like:
    #   {'option': I01\n.  (for a True boolean value), ... }

This fix also allows you to save values with the newline character in
them. So code like this will work:

.. code:: python

    settings.set('mytext', 'this\nstring\n\has\nnewlines.')
    print settings.get('mytext')
    # this will result in:
    #   this
    #   string
    #   has
    #   newlines.

Examples
========

Example of Easy Settings basic usage:

.. code:: python

    #!/usr/bin/env python
    # --------------- Creation ----------------

    from easysettings import EasySettings

    settings = EasySettings("myconfigfile.conf")

    # configfile_exists() checks for existing config, and creates one if needed.
    # ** this function is called automatically now when a filename is passed to easysettings. **
    # if you wish to disable it, just do: settings = EasySettings() and set
    # settings.configfile later.

    # ------------- Basic Functions -----------
    # set without saving
    settings.set("username", "cjw")
    settings.set("firstrun", False)

    print settings.get("username")
    # this results in "cjw"

    # check if file is saved
    if not settings.is_saved():
        print "you haven't saved the settings to disk yet."

    # ...settings are still available even if they haven't
    #    been saved to disk

    # save
    settings.save()

    # you may also set & save in one line...
    settings.setsave("homedir", "/myuserdir")

Other Features:

.. code:: python

        # check if setting exists if you want
        if settings.has_option('username'):
            print "Yes, settings has 'username'"

        # list settings/options/values
        mysettings = settings.list_settings()
        myoptions = settings.list_options()
        myvalues = settings.list_values()

        # remove setting
        settings.remove('homedir')

        # clear all option names and values
        settings.clear()

        # clear all values, leave option names.
        settings.clear_values()

Comparison:

.. code:: python

    # compare two settings objects
    settings2 = EasySettings('myconfigfile2.conf')

    if settings.compare_opts(settings2):
        print "these have the same exact options, values may differ"
    if settings.compare_vals(settings2):
        print "these have the exact same values, options may differ"

    if settings == settings2:
        print "these have the exact same settings/values"
        # can also be written as settings.compare_settings(settings2)
        # if you like typing.. :)

    if settings > settings2:
        print "settings has more options than settings2"
    # all of them work ==, !=, <=, >= , > , <
    # ... the < > features are based on amount of options.
    #     the = features are based on option names and values.

Features
========

Easy Settings has the basic features you would expect out of a settings
module, and it's very easy to use. If your project needs to save simple
settings without the overhead and complication of other modules then
this is for you. Save, load, set, & get are very easy to grasp. The more
advanced features are there for you to use, but don't get in the way.
Settings, options, & values can be listed, searched, detected, removed,
& cleared.

Easy Settings uses a dictionary to store settings before writing to
disk, so you can also access settings like a dictionary object using
``easysettings.settings``. The ``setsave()`` function will save every
time you set an option, and ``is_saved()`` will tell you whether or not
the file has been saved to disk yet. Code is documented for a newbie, so
a ``help('EasySettings')`` in the python console will get you started.

The search\_query argument in the list functions lets you find settings,
options, and values by search string:

.. code:: python

    mydebugoptions = settings.list_options('debug')
    # clear all debug values..
    settings.clear_values(mydebugoptions)

Non-string types were added, so any type that can be pickled can be used
as an option's value. This includes all the major types like int, long,
float, boolean, and list. All of these values will be retrieved as the
same type that was set:

.. code:: python

    es = EasySettings('myconfigfile.conf)

    # Boolean
    es.set("newuser", True)
    if es.get('newuser'):
        print "now you can use get() as a boolean."

    # Integer
    es.set('maxwidth', 560)
    halfwidth = es.get('maxwidth') / 2 # this math works.

    # Float
    es.set('soda', 1.59)
    f_withtax = es.get('soda') * 1.08

    # List
    es.set('users', ['cjw', 'joseph', 'amy']) # lists as settings, very convenient
    for suser in es.get('users'):
        print "retrieved user name: " + suser

    # i won't do them all, but if you can pickle it, you can use it with easysettings.

Errors are more descriptive and can be caught using their proper names:

.. code:: python

    try:
        es.get('option_with_a_possibly_illegal_value')
    except easysettings.esGetError as exErr:
        print "Error getting option!"
    except Exception as exEx:
        print "General Error!"

Automatic Creation:
===================

If you pass a file name to EasySettings(), the ``configfile_exists()``
function is called. This function will create a blank config file if the
file doesn't exist, otherwise it will return True. To use the 'automatic
creation' do this:

.. code:: python

    settings = EasySettings('myconfigfile.conf')
    # if file exists, all settings were loaded.
    # if file did not exist, it was created.
    # No permissions, disk-full, and other errors are still possible of course
    # depending on the machine, or the current directory permissions.

You can disable the 'automatic creation' features by not passing a file
name, and loading seperately like this:

.. code:: python

    settings = EasySettings()
    settings.configfile = 'myconfigfile.conf'
    # file has not been created or loaded.
    # file must exist before calling 'load_file'
    if settings.load_file():
        # all settings were loaded.
    else:
        # unable to load file for some reason.

This will work in the same way to disable the automatic creation:

.. code:: python

    settings = EasySettings()
    # file has not been created or loaded.
    # file 'myconfigfile.conf' must exist before calling load_file()
    if settings.load_file('myconfigfile.conf'):
        # file was loaded.
        # settings.configfile was set by the load_file() function
    else:
        # file could not be loaded.

To check if the file exists without creating it automatically you can do
this:

.. code:: python

    if not settings.configfile_exists(False):
        print 'config file does not exist, and was not created.'
    # I actually prefer the os.path.isfile() method if you're not going to automatically
    # create the file.
    import os.path
    if not os.path.isfile(settings.configfile):
        print 'config file does not exist, and was not created.'

PyPi Package
============

Full PyPi package available at: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/EasySettings

Use pip to install Easy Settings to be used globally. Ubuntu
instructions to install pip:

.. code:: bash

    sudo apt-get install python-pip

After that you should be able to install Easy Settings by typing:

.. code:: bash

    sudo pip install easysettings

Source Code
===========

You can view the source for this package at:
https://github.com/welbornprod/easysettings

Website
=======

Be sure to visit http://welbornprod.com for more projects and
information from Welborn Productions.

|I Love Open Source|

.. |I Love Open Source| image:: http://www.iloveopensource.io/images/logo-lightbg.png
   :target: http://www.iloveopensource.io/projects/53e6d33587659fce660044f9
