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A configuration option has:
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* a name: a valid python identifier (even if it's not used as an
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identifier in python itself)
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* a value: a unicode string or a list of unicode strings.
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As a Bazaar developer there are a few things you need to know about
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* how to add a new option,
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* how add a new stack,
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* how add a new store.
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The first sections in this document summarize the steps needed when adding a
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new configuration item, the rest of the document gives more internal details
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on how this is implemented.
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Options values are obtained with ``stack.get(option_name)`` where ``stack``
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is one of the daughter classes of ``config.Stack``, see their docstrings for
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a description of which sections are used from which stores.
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The value returned is of the type declared for that ``Option`` and if
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nothing is specifically declared you will get the default for that option.
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You add a new ``Option`` to the ``option_registry``, either inside
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``bzrlib/config.py`` or during initialization of your plugin (use
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``register_lazy`` in this case). New plugins should have systematic
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hierarchical names so that related values are grouped together::
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option_registry.register(
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Option('dirstate.fdatasync', default=True,
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from_unicode=bool_from_store,
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help="Flush dirstate changes onto physical disk? ...."))
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You then need to decide which stack is appropriate to implement the Option
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* which config files (aka ``Store``) needs to be queried, which sections are
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relevant and in what order,
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* which section will receive the modifications (if relevant).
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The docstrings for the existing stacks cover most of the known use cases.
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Modify an option value or delete an option
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------------------------------------------
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Just reading an option is what is needed most of the time, modifying option
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values or removing options is usually something that is not automated but
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left to the user (with ``bzr config``).
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Nevertheless, if you need to save a modified option value, use
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``.set(option_name, value)`` and ``.remove(option_name)`` to delete the
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option. Both methods are provided by the ``Stack`` object.
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But before doing that, you must be sure that the stack you're using have a
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writable section (this is true for ``GlobalStack`` which uses the
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``DEFAULT`` section in ``bazaar.conf`` and for ``BranchStack``which uses the
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no-name section in ``branch.conf``).
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Old and new configuration code
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------------------------------
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There is (as of late 2011) some older and some newer configuration code. The
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old code has specific methods for various checks or uses classes like
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``GlobalConfig``. Don't add to to it; try to remove it.
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If you encounter an option using the old code you may want to migrate
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it. This generally involves:
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* registering the option,
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* replace the old config by a stack:
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* ``GlobalConfig`` became ``GlobalStack``,
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* ``LocationConfig`` became ``LocationStack``,
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* ``BranchConfig`` became ``BranchStack`` (or in this case,
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``get_config()`` became ``get_config_stack()``.
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* replace the custom accessor calls with ``conf.get(option_name)``.
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The new config code provides some help for commonly encountered use cases
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that can allow further simplifications like:
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* providing a default value when the option is not defined in any way by the
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* convert the unicode string provided by the user into a suitable
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representation (integer, list, etc).
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If you start migrating a given option to the config stacks, don't stop
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mid-way, all its uses should be covered (tests included). There are some
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edge cases where updates via one API will be not be seen by the other API
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(see http://pad.lv/948339 and http://pad.lv/948344 for details). Roughly,
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the old API always trigger an IO while the new one cache values to avoid
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them. This works fine as long as a given option is handled via a single API.
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Stacks capture the various places an option can be declared by the user with
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associated levels of generality and query them in the appropriate order
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returning the first definition found. For example, the
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``append_revisions_only`` option may be declared for all branches of a user
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in ``bazaar.conf``, or for a hierarchy of branches in ``locations.conf`` or
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in a single branch in ``branch.conf``.
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Defining a new stack means you need a new way to expose these levels to the
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user that is not covered by the existing stacks.
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This is achieved by declaring:
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* which stores can provide a value for the option,
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* which sections apply to the stack instance, some filtering for a given
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context can be defined,
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* which (store, section) should receive the modifications.
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Mapping different sections to different stacks is a powerful way to organize
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the options and provide various levels of configuration to the user. This is
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achieved with ``Store`` and ``SectionMatcher`` objects.
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The following stores are used by ``bzr`` in ways that illustrate various
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``bzr`` itself defines two sections here:
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* ``DEFAULT`` where global options are defined,
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* ``ALIASES`` where command aliases are defined. This section is *not*
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available via ``GlobalStack``, instead, the ``bzr alias`` command uses it
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for its own purposes.
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Plugins can define either additional options in the ``DEFAULT`` section or
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new sections for their own needs (this is not especially encouraged
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though). The ``bzr-bookmarks`` plugin defines a ``BOOKMARKS`` section there
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The Ubuntu package importer defines a store and two stacks involving
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``pkgimport.conf``. A no-name section contains the options common to all
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packages and sections named after their corresponding package can also be
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The ``ImporterStack`` uses ``locations.conf`` and the no-name section in
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``pkgimport.conf`` for the importer options.
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The ``PackageStack`` uses only ``pkgimport.conf`` and uses the section name
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after the package followed by the no-name section.
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``bzr`` defines sections corresponding to URLs there and includes the
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relevant sections in ``LocationStack`` and ``BranchStack``. No no-name
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section is recognized in this file.
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This file defines the option for a given branch and uses only the no-name
added
removed
doc/developers/configuration.txt
