The Yaf_Config_Ini class
Yaf_Config_Ini enables developers to store configuration data in a familiar INI format and read it in the application by using nested object property syntax. The INI format is specialized to provide both the ability to have a hierarchy of configuration data keys and inheritance between configuration data sections. Configuration data hierarchies are supported by separating the keys with the dot or period character ("."). A section may extend or inherit from another section by following the section name with a colon character (":") and the name of the section from which data are to be inherited.
Intro
Yaf_Config_Ini enables developers to store configuration data in a familiar INI format and read it in the application by using nested object property syntax. The INI format is specialized to provide both the ability to have a hierarchy of configuration data keys and inheritance between configuration data sections. Configuration data hierarchies are supported by separating the keys with the dot or period character ("."). A section may extend or inherit from another section by following the section name with a colon character (":") and the name of the section from which data are to be inherited.
Yaf_Config_Ini utilizes the parse_ini_file() PHP function. Please review this documentation to be aware of its specific behaviors, which propagate to Yaf_Config_Ini, such as how the special values of "true", "false", "yes", "no", and "null" are handled.
Yaf_Config_Ini parses the configuration file on every request. If an application manages a large amount of (mostly static) configuration, consider the Yaconf extension instead: it keeps configuration in shared memory across the whole PHP lifecycle, so it is parsed only once and can be accessed much more efficiently. Yaconf understands the very same INI syntax — keys separated by dots, and inheritance between sections through "[section : parent]" — so the existing application.ini can be served by Yaconf as-is; only the way it is passed to Yaf_Application::__construct changes (see the tip in Application Configuration).
Class synopsis
Properties
_config_readonly
Examples
Yaf_Config_Ini()example
This example illustrates a basic use of Yaf_Config_Ini for loading configuration data from an INI file. In this example there are configuration data for both a production system and for a staging system. Because the staging system configuration data are very similar to those for production, the staging section inherits from the production section. In this case, the decision is arbitrary and could have been written conversely, with the production section inheriting from the staging section, though this may not be the case for more complex situations. Suppose, then, that the following configuration data are contained in /path/to/config.ini:
; Production site configuration data
[production]
webhost = www.example.com
database.adapter = pdo_mysql
database.params.host = db.example.com
database.params.username = dbuser
database.params.password = secret
database.params.dbname = dbname
; Staging site configuration data inherits from production and
; overrides values as necessary
[staging : production]
database.params.host = dev.example.com
database.params.username = devuser
database.params.password = devsecret<?php
$config = new Yaf_Config_Ini('/path/to/config.ini', 'staging');
var_dump($config->database->params->host);
var_dump($config->database->params->dbname);
var_dump($config->get("database.params.username"));
?>The above example will output something similar to:
string(15) "dev.example.com"
string(6) "dbname"
string(7) "devuser"Yaf-config-ini