UserSettingsParser

The UserSettingsParser class is a thread-safe, singleton utility for managing user settings from a configuration file. The settings are stored as key-value pairs and can be retrieved or updated with automatic type conversion support for int, double, and bool values.

The class ensures that a settings file is created automatically if it doesn't exist when loading settings for the first time. Features

• Singleton Design: Ensures only one instance of UserSettingsParser is used throughout the application.
• Thread Safety: Internal operations are protected by a mutex to avoid race conditions.
• File Handling: Automatically creates the settings file if it doesn't exist when loading settings.
• Template-Based Type Conversion: Supports retrieving and setting values of various types such as int, double, and bool.
• File Saving: Allows saving the current settings to a specified file or the last loaded file.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Ensure your development environment supports C++17 or higher to use modern C++ features like std::filesystem.

Installation

• Simply include the UserSettingsParser.hpp file in your project:

#include "UserSettingsParser.hpp"

Usage

• Load Settings from a File

Before accessing or modifying settings, load them from a file. The file is automatically created if it doesn’t exist.

UserSettingsParser& parser = UserSettingsParser::getInstance();
parser.loadSettings("config/settings.conf");

• Retrieve Settings as String

You can retrieve settings using the getValue method, which returns the value as a string.

std::string username = parser.getValue("username");

• Retrieve Settings with Type Conversion

Use getValueAs() to retrieve values with automatic type conversion. The supported types are int, double, and bool.

int maxConnections = parser.getValueAs<int>("max_connections");
double timeout = parser.getValueAs<double>("timeout");
bool isActive = parser.getValueAs<bool>("active");

• Set Settings

You can set settings directly as a string using setValue.

parser.setValue("theme", "dark");

You can also use type conversion when setting values with setValueAs().

parser.setValueAs<int>("max_connections", 100);
parser.setValueAs<bool>("notifications_enabled", true);

• Save Settings After modifying the settings, you can save them back to the file.

parser.saveSettings();  // Saves to the last loaded file

You can also specify a different file to save the settings to:

parser.saveSettingsAs("config/backup_settings.conf");

Example

#include "UserSettingsParser.hpp"

int main() {
    UserSettingsParser& parser = UserSettingsParser::getInstance();

    // Load settings, will create the file if it doesn't exist
    parser.loadSettings("settings.conf");

    // Get some values
    std::string username = parser.getValue("username");
    int maxConnections = parser.getValueAs<int>("max_connections");

    // Set some values
    parser.setValue("theme", "light");
    parser.setValueAs<int>("max_connections", 200);

    // Save the updated settings
    parser.saveSettings();

    return 0;
}

Exception Handling

• If a file cannot be opened or created, a std::runtime_error is thrown.
• If a requested setting is not found, a std::runtime_error is thrown.

Example of catching exceptions:

try {
    parser.loadSettings("settings.conf");
} catch (const std::runtime_error& e) {
    std::cerr << "Error: " << e.what() << std::endl;
}

Thread Safety

All public methods that modify or access settings are thread-safe, ensuring that multiple threads can safely load, modify, and save settings.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.