> Hi,
>
> a) I am looking for a module to handle config files. There are a number of
> these modules, like AppCconig. Any consensus about The Right Module for
> this?
>
Whichever module gets the job done the way you want it. I have used
AppConfig with some success but it fails to handle overly complex
structures (not its claim to fame either) some people (read: myself)
have come to expect in a config file so I switched to using XML::Simple
for more complex tasks. Since I started out in the web world that
transition was obviously easy for me. I have found in general the
module that is chosen is based more on the format of the config file,
which is usually left up to the person editing it and how comfortable
they are with doing so, or whether there will be an interface to editing
it. If the config file changes a lot and non-developers will edit it go
with something simple like AppConfig because it is relatively powerful
without complex layout restrictions, if the config file changes in
frequently, is updated by knowledgeable users, and/or has an interface
for making updates then go with a module that is easily written back out
and allows for arbitrarily complex data structures....
>
> b) As I develop one one machine and test/deploy on another, I want
> constructs in my config file like:
>
> if (`hostname` eq 'dev_box') {
> mysql_dsn = 'foobar';
> } elsif ((`hostname` eq 'test_box'}
> mysql_dsn = 'abracadabra';
> ...
>
> Any support for that in your module of choice?
>
> I know of the use-just-perl-code approach (with 'do') in the Perl
Cookbook,
> but I am wondering if new insights exist.
>
Not that I know of, that is a rather complex deal, where is hostname? is
it in the path? what about machines that may not supply it? If you
want a dev/q-a/prod set of config files i have found it more appropriate
to use the same structure in a set of 3 different config files, then
migrate the unique config files to each of the environments. Granted
when you change the structure you have to update 3 copies, but it
simplifies the programming, which *should* be the expensive part.
Just my $.02,
http://danconia.org
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