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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: KConfig
From:       Bernd Gehrmann <bernd () physik ! hu-berlin ! de>
Date:       1999-10-31 15:30:41
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On Sun, 31 Oct 1999 John Corey wrote:
>Stephan Kulow wrote:
>> 
>> Bernd Gehrmann wrote:
>> >
>> > Shouln't KConfig be able to read/write _arbitrary_ strings?
>> > Currently, when I write something like "foo " (with a white-
>> > space at the end), I get back "foo" when reading the entry.
>> > To make it even more inconsistent, this happens only when
>> > the entry is read from disk, not from the cache.
>> >
>> Well, there is even a stripWhiteSpaces in the code to make
>> it easier for humans to edit the entries. But your point is
>> valid.
>
>And if a human edited the file, they'll probably miss/delete the ending
>space.  So wouldn't it be better for an app that does this to enclose
>the string in quotes?

Sorry, but as an application programmer, I certainly do _not_ want
to waste my time thinking about how a user edits a file. That's
KConfig's job, not mine. What else do I have to care about? Tabs,
Commas, linefeeds? What happens if the ini backend is replaced by
an xml backend? Do I have to rewrite my program then to take care
about '<' and '>'? I want an API with a well-defined behaviour,
especially a behavour that is consistent with the documentation.
The removal of whitespace is nowhere documented.

Bernd.

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