Generic configuration file processing library and executable
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorBrian Costa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of configuring software applications is provided. A configuration file processing library implements a configuration file processor. Applications are compiled utilizing the configuration file processing library to generate generic configuration file processing code for reading and manipulating data in a generic configuration file. When the file is executed, the application stantiates a configuration file processor applications programming interface through which the configuration file is read or manipulated by applications independent of the user's operating environment.
Claims15
A method for allowing a software application to access a configuration file, said configuration file comprising data used by said software application, comprising the steps of:
- providing a configuration processing library, said configuration processing library comprising a body of callable executable code which provides flexible parsing functionality for reading and manipulating data in configuration files;
- inserting calls to said callable executable code into said application to read and/or manipulate said configuration file;
- compiling said application with said configuration processing library;
- and
- executing said application, wherein execution of said calls inserted in said application allow said application to read and/or manipulate said configuration file.
A method for an application to process an arbitrary configuration file, said configuration file comprising at least one attribute, each of said at least one attribute comprising zero, one or more associated values each separated in sequence by a set of separator characters, said method comprising the steps of:
- compiling said application with a generic configuration file processing library, said configuration processing library comprising a body of callable executable code which provides flexible parsing functionality for reading and manipulating data in configuration files and said application comprising calls to said callable executable code in said configuration processing library to read and/or manipulate said configuration file;
- receiving a set of separator characters;
- and
- parsing said attributes and said associated values from configuration file based on said set of separator characters.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.