A simple INI file parser in C#.

Getting Started

Parsini is developed in .NET Standard 2.0, it is therefore supported on the following platforms:

• .NET Framework 4.6.1
• .NET Core 2.0
• Mono 5.4
• Xamarin.iOS 10.14
• Xamarin.Mac 3.8
• Xamarin.Android 7.5

Installation

You can install the NuGet package via the Package Manager

PM> Install-Package Parsini -Version 1.0.0

or the .NET CLI

> dotnet add package Parsini --version 1.0.0

INI Standard

Altough the INI file format is an informal standard, Parsini follows an opinionated naming convention.

Element	Description
Sections	Groups of keys, arbitrarely named.
Keys	Pairs of names and values contained within a section.

Parsini also assumes that

• Sections are enclosed in brackets, as such [section].
• Every keys that follow a section definition are included in that section, until the next section definition.
• If no section is defined, the keys will be added in the DEFAULT section.
• A key's name and value pair is separeted by an equal sign (=), as such name=value.
• Comments are defined by a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line and are ignored by the parser.

Usage

Using Statements

The following using are available:

using Parsini;                // Required, exposes main parser class.
using Parsini.Models;         // Optional, exposes types-related classes, useful for storing result in variables.
using Parsini.Collections;    // Optional, exposes collections-related classes, useful for storing result in variables.

Instantiation

You will need to instantiate a new IniParser by passing the INI file's path.

The parsing is done on instantiation and the result is accessible through the Result property.

IniParser parser = new IniParser(@"C:\temp\conf.ini");
Ini configuration = parser.Result;

Parsing

Standard INI File

The following examples use this sample INI file.

Is is opinionatedly defined as standard since every keys are contained in sections, and it follows every rules defined in the aforementioned standard.

; Standard INI file sample.
[app]
version=0.0.1

[database]
server=127.0.0.1
port=123

The named sections are accessible either via indexes or names.

Once a section is returned, its keys are also accessible via indexes or names.

Once a key is returned, its value is accessed via the Value property.

using Parsini;
using Parsini.Models;

IniParser parser = new IniParser(@"C:\temp\conf.ini");
Ini configuration = parser.Result;

string db_server = configuration.Sections["database"].Keys["server"].Value;
string db_port = configuration.Sections["database"].Keys["port"].Value;
string app_version = configuration.Sections["app"].Keys["version"].Value;

The parser's result may be accessed without storing it in another variable. The using Parsini.Models statement may then be removed.

using Parsini;

IniParser parser = new IniParser(@"C:\temp\conf.ini");

string db_server = parser.Result.Sections["database"].Keys["server"].Value;
string db_port = parser.Result.Sections["database"].Keys["port"].Value;
string app_version = parser.Result.Sections["app"].Keys["version"].Value;

INI File WITHOUT Sections

Although it is not the preferred way, INI files without sections are suported.

The following examples use this sample INI file.

; INI file sample without sections.
server=127.0.0.1
port=123

If you did not provide any sections in your INI file, Parsini creates a default section (named DEFAULT). It is then accessible either though its name (DEFAULT), or its index (0).

using Parsini;
using Parsini.Models;

IniParser parser = new IniParser(@"C:\temp\db.ini");
Ini db_conf = parser.Result;

string db_server = db_conf.Sections[0].Keys["server"].Value;          // Via index
string db_port = db_conf.Sections["DEFAULT"].Keys["port"].Value;      // Via name

Again, the parser's result may be accessed without storing it in another variable. The using Parsini.Models statement may then be removed.

using Parsini;

IniParser parser = new IniParser(@"C:\temp\db.ini");

string db_server = parser.Result.Sections[0].Keys["server"].Value;          // Via index
string db_port = parser.Result.Sections["DEFAULT"].Keys["port"].Value;      // Via name

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Change Log

1.0.0

• Initial Release!
• Support basic INI file parsing.