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[.NET] Very Simple I/O *.INI Reader - Printable Version

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Very Simple I/O *.INI Reader - Tedd - Jan 11, 2014

Hey, for an application I am making, I need to be able to read an INI file. So I decided to write up a very basic I/O StreamReader ini file reader.

Example usage:
[Image: 6h1KX.png]


Added a little class so you can grab a section and not have to use .GetValue("name", "section") each time, which would require it to open a stream reader each time.
[Image: 6hIqB.png]


Code:
Code
Imports System.IO

Public Class INIReader
    Public ReadOnly file As String

    Sub New(ByVal inifile As String)
  If IO.File.Exists(inifile) Then
    file = inifile
  Else
    'If our file isn't found, we want to let the user know.
    Throw New FileNotFoundException("File does not exist.", inifile)
  End If
    End Sub

    Public Function GetValue(ByVal value As String, Optional ByVal section As String = Nothing) As String
  Using reader As New IO.StreamReader(file)
    Dim temp As String

    If section Is Nothing Then
    While Not reader.EndOfStream
    temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim

    'If the line is null then we don't need to read it
    If temp Is Nothing Then Continue While

    'If the line is blank then we don't need to read it
    If temp.Length = 0 Then Continue While

    'If the line is a comment then we don't need to read it
    If temp(0) = ";"c Then Continue While

    'If the line is a section, then we don't need to read it
    If temp(0) = "["c Then Continue While

    'If the line begins with the property name, then we return everything after the "=".
    If temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf("="c)).Trim = value Then
    Return temp.Substring(temp.IndexOf("="c) + 1).Trim
    End If
    End While

    'Either we got to the next section or the end of the file and nothing was found.
    Return Nothing
    Else
    While Not reader.EndOfStream
    temp = reader.ReadLine.Trim

    'If the line is null then we don't need to read it
    If temp Is Nothing Then Continue While

    'If the line is blank then we don't need to read it
    If temp.Length = 0 Then Continue While

    'If the line is a comment then we don't need to read it
    If temp(0) = ";"c Then Continue While

    If temp.Substring(0, section.Length + 2) = "[" & section & "]" Then
    'We've found the section, we need to clear the temp variable to use it for our property now
    temp = Nothing

    While Not reader.EndOfStream
    temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim

    'If the line is null then we don't need to read it
    If temp Is Nothing Then Continue While

    'If the line is blank then we don't need to read it
    If temp.Length = 0 Then Continue While

    'If the line is a comment then we don't need to read it
    If temp(0) = ";"c Then Continue While

    'If the line is a section, then the section we were looking for didn't have our property, so we exit.
    If temp(0) = "["c Then Exit While

    'If the line begins with the property name, then we return everything after the "=".
    If temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf("="c)).Trim = value Then
    Return temp.Substring(temp.IndexOf("="c) + 1).Trim
    End If
    End While
    End If
    End While

    'Either we got to the next section or the end of the file and nothing was found.
    Return Nothing
    End If

    temp = Nothing

    reader.Close()
  End Using
    End Function

    Public Function GetProperties(ByVal section As String) As List(Of String())
  GetProperties = New List(Of String())

  Using reader As New IO.StreamReader(file)
    Dim temp As String

    While Not reader.EndOfStream
    temp = reader.ReadLine.Trim

    'If the line is null then we don't need to read it
    If temp Is Nothing Then Continue While

    'If the line is blank then we don't need to read it
    If temp.Length = 0 Then Continue While

    'If the line is a comment then we don't need to read it
    If temp(0) = ";"c Then Continue While

    'If the string isn't even as long as "[" & section & "]" it's obviously not the section
    If temp.Length < section.Length + 2 Then Continue While

    If temp.Substring(0, section.Length + 2) = "[" & section & "]" Then
    'We've found the section, we need to clear the temp variable to use it for our property now
    temp = Nothing

    While Not reader.EndOfStream
    temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim

    'If the line is null then we don't need to read it
    If temp Is Nothing Then Continue While

    'If the line is blank then we don't need to read it
    If temp.Length = 0 Then Continue While

    'If the line is a comment then we don't need to read it
    If temp(0) = ";"c Then Continue While

    'If the line is a section, then the section we were looking for didn't have our property, so we exit.
    If temp(0) = "["c Then Exit While

    'If the line begins with the property name, then we return everything after the "=".
    If temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf("="c)).Trim.Length <> 0 Then
    GetProperties.Add({temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf("="c)).Trim, temp.Substring(temp.IndexOf("="c) + 1).Trim})
    End If
    End While
    End If
    End While

    'Either we got to the next section or the end of the file and nothing was found.
    Return GetProperties

    temp = Nothing

    reader.Close()
  End Using
    End Function

End Class

Public Class INISection
    Public properties As List(Of String())

    Sub New(ByVal reader As INIReader, ByVal section As String)
  properties = reader.GetProperties(section)
    End Sub

    Public Function GetValue(ByVal name As String)
  Return properties.Find(Function(x) x(0) = name)(1)
    End Function
End Class

Thank you to Lodestone™ for a C# version:
Code
using Microsoft.VisualBasic;
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;

public class IniReader
{

    public readonly string file;
    public IniReader(string inifile)
    {
      if (File.Exists(inifile))
      {
      file = inifile;
      }
      else
      {
      throw new FileNotFoundException("File does not exist.", inifile);
      }
    }

    public string GetValue(string value, string section = null)
    {
      using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(file))
      {
      string temp = null;

      if (section == null)
      {
            while (!reader.EndOfStream)
            {
            temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim();
            if (temp == null)
            continue;
            if (temp.Length == 0)
            continue;
            if (temp[0] == ';')
            continue;
            if (temp[0] == '[')
            continue;
            if (temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf('=')).Trim() == value)
            {
            return temp.Substring(temp.IndexOf('=') + 1).Trim();
            }
            }
            return null;
      }
      else
      {
            while (!reader.EndOfStream)
            {
            temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim();
            if (temp == null)
            continue;
            if (temp.Length == 0)
            continue;
            if (temp[0] == ';')
            continue;
            if (temp.Substring(0, section.Length + 2) == "[" + section + "]")
            {
            temp = null;

            while (!reader.EndOfStream)
            {
            temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim();
            if (temp == null)
            continue;
            if (temp.Length == 0)
            continue;
            if (temp[0] == ';')
            continue;
            if (temp[0] == '[')
            break;
            if (temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf('=')).Trim() == value)
            {
            return temp.Substring(temp.IndexOf('=') + 1).Trim();
            }
            }
            }
            }

            return null;
      }

      temp = null;

      reader.Close();
      }
    }

    public List<string[]> GetProperties(string section)
    {
        List<string[]> functionReturnValue = default(List<string[]>);
        functionReturnValue = new List<string[]>();

        using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(file)) {
            string temp = null;

            while (!reader.EndOfStream) {
                temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim();
                if (temp == null)
                    continue;
                if (temp.Length == 0)
                    continue;
                if (temp[0] == ';')
                    continue;
                if (temp.Length < section.Length + 2)
                    continue;

                if (temp.Substring(0, section.Length + 2) == "[" + section + "]") {
                    temp = null;

                    while (!reader.EndOfStream) {
                        temp = reader.ReadLine().Trim();
                        if (temp == null)
                        continue;
                        if (temp.Length == 0)
                        continue;
                        if (temp[0] == ';')
                        continue;
                        if (temp[0] == '[')
                        break;
                        if (temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf('=')).Trim().Length != 0) {
                        functionReturnValue.Add(new string[] {temp.Substring(0, temp.IndexOf('=')).Trim(), temp.Substring(temp.IndexOf('=') + 1).Trim() });
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
            return functionReturnValue;

            temp = null;

            reader.Close();
        }
        return functionReturnValue;
    }

}

public class IniSection
{

    public List<string[]> properties;
    public IniSection(IniReader reader, string section)
    {
      properties = reader.GetProperties(section);
    }

    public object GetValue(string name)
    {
      return properties.Find(x => x[0] == name)[1];
    }
}

If anyone has any suggestions on things I overlooked, please post. I tried to cover all possible scenarios.

* - GammaRay - Jan 11, 2014

Vouch for this method. Gets me high.

Just kidding. But thanks for this. Well commented.

* - Anon?M ID - Jan 11, 2014

nice code you got there. but i have simpliest module for ini reader

Code
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports System.Text
Namespace IniRW
    Public Class IniFile
  Public path As String
  <DllImport("kernel32")> _
  Private Shared Function WritePrivateProfileString(ByVal section As String, ByVal key As String, ByVal val As String, ByVal filePath As String) As Long
  End Function
  <DllImport("kernel32")> _
  Private Shared Function GetPrivateProfileString(ByVal section As String, ByVal key As String, ByVal def As String, ByVal retVal As StringBuilder, ByVal size As Integer, ByVal filePath As String) As Integer
  End Function
  Public Sub New()
    path = Environment.CurrentDirectory + "\Setting.ini"
  End Sub
  Public Sub IniWriteValue(ByVal Section As String, ByVal Key As String, ByVal Value As String)
    WritePrivateProfileString(Section, Key, Value, Me.path)
  End Sub
  Public Function IniReadValue(ByVal Section As String, ByVal Key As String) As String
    Dim temp As New StringBuilder(255)
    Dim i As Integer = GetPrivateProfileString(Section, Key, "", temp, 255, Me.path)
    Return temp.ToString()
  End Function
    End Class
End Namespace


* - zyvox - Jan 11, 2014

Looks nice, also well commented. Nice work :)

* - Tedd - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 06:12 AM)Zуνoχ™ Wrote:  Looks nice, also well commented. Nice work :)

Thanks! It's ridiculously simple concept, but it works with just about anything you can throw at it. I think I benchmarked it at 10 thousand .GetValues() in 1.7 seconds.

Hoping that by commenting, people can understand what I'm trying to do better and if they read what it's trying to do and realize "oh, that can be done a ton easier this way", they will post here.

* - ident - Jan 11, 2014

The last thread you started method scope variables using pascal case. Now you are using camel case after your hissy fit about no standards. If you cant even follow your own you really are a joke. Oh ever heard of path.combine?

* - Zettabit - Jan 11, 2014

Seems nice. I have one that I found that I've been using and it basically works with the same principles. You should use properties for the sections though, that way you can search the array for the section, and create a variable that can access that specific section only.

For example, here's a .ini file:
Code
[program]
width=50
height=150

[settings]
color=red
border=black

An example of what I mean, is like this:
Code
Dim programini As INIReader.Section = INIReader.GetSection("program")
MessageBox.Show(programini.GetValue("width"))

This would be useful if you have large amounts of values in one section, and don't want to keep using .GetValue("section", "property").

* - Tedd - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 12:17 PM)ident Wrote:  The last thread you started method scope variables using pascal case. Now you are using camel case after your hissy fit about no standards. If you cant even follow your own you really are a joke. Oh ever heard of path.combine?

Oh the horrors, I'm such a shitty programmer because I didn't capitalize my variable right. Oh god life must be so hard for you that you are forced to read a lowercase letter verses an uppercase.

Yes I have heard of path.combine, truth is it doesn't matter which one you use, because they both execute about the same speed. If you want to get technical, using simple string manipulation is actually faster than calling Path.Combine()

[Image: 6hFYr.png]

It's like you to argue about something that small, it's almost like arguing about the capitalization of a name which has no relevance at runtime. :O

* - ident - Jan 11, 2014

why oh why are you even doing a test with path.combine....When the hell would you ever loop combine, you make this forum a fucking joke. There is nothing to test. To combine paths, and wait for it the whole point of the framework is to use it classes. To combine paths... guess what you should be using..Jesus

* - Tedd - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 04:13 PM)ident Wrote:  why oh why are you even doing a test with path.combine....When the hell would you ever loop combine, you make this forum a fucking joke. There is nothing to test. To combine paths, and wait for it the whole point of the framework is to use it classes. To combine paths... guess what you should be using..Jesus

It's a loop because it shows the speed if you were using the function hundreds of times, do you understand logic?

Why would you use the framework's function, if it's slower than the function you use?? Riddle me that.

(Jan 11, 2014 02:05 PM)Crack Dealer Wrote:  Seems nice. I have one that I found that I've been using and it basically works with the same principles. You should use properties for the sections though, that way you can search the array for the section, and create a variable that can access that specific section only.

For example, here's a .ini file:
Code
[program]
width=50
height=150

[settings]
color=red
border=black

An example of what I mean, is like this:
Code
Dim programini As INIReader.Section = INIReader.GetSection("program")
MessageBox.Show(programini.GetValue("width"))

This would be useful if you have large amounts of values in one section, and don't want to keep using .GetValue("section", "property").

[Image: 6hIqB.png]

How's that? It's actually faster because now it doesn't have to read the file each time you want to grab a property.

The new code will be put in the OP after I post this

* - Zettabit - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 04:21 PM)Tedd Wrote:  It's a loop because it shows the speed if you were using the function hundreds of times, do you understand logic?

Why would you use the framework's function, if it's slower than the function you use?? Riddle me that.


[Image: 6hIqB.png]

How's that? It's actually faster because now it doesn't have to read the file each time you want to grab a property.

The new code will be put in the OP after I post this

That's actually exactly what I was referring to. Looks nice. :)

If I think of any other suggestions, I'll post them.

* - DeanReynolds - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 12:17 PM)ident Wrote:  The last thread you started method scope variables using pascal case. Now you are using camel case after your hissy fit about no standards. If you cant even follow your own you really are a joke. Oh ever heard of path.combine?

If that's how you are judging peoples code then you really are sad, what are you 8?

I used to start my variables lower case until I started otherwise like:

Code
callFunction();
Code
CallFunction();

On topic: Nice simple function release, thank you.

* - ident - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 06:06 PM)DeanReynolds Wrote:  If that's how you are judging peoples code then you really are sad, what are you 8?

I used to start my variables lower case until I started otherwise like:

Code
callFunction();
Code
CallFunction();

On topic: Nice simple function release, thank you.

Thats because i am a programmer. You are not.

* - DeanReynolds - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 07:09 PM)ident Wrote:  Thats because i am a programmer. You are not.

Oh great, we have another kid here. You think other people aren't programmers because they don't programme with certain casing and exactly how you want it. You are a sad, sad child.

* - Tedd - Jan 11, 2014

(Jan 11, 2014 07:09 PM)ident Wrote:  Thats because i am a programmer. You are not.

I like how you didn't find any retarded comeback for my message so you don't reply ;)