Ini File Format

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OpenM++ components can use ini files to specify options. This topic describes how these ini files are structured.

Related topics

• model run ini file options
• omc ini file options

OpenM++ ini-file format

OpenM++ ini-files are similar to other well-known implementations of ini-files. It is a text file consist of [sections] of key = value pairs and optional comments. For example:

[General]
Cases = 12345 ; number of cases

; openM++ specific options
[OpenM]
SparseOutput = true

Ini-file can contain following lines:

• [section] line where section is [anything in square brackets]
• Key = Value lines
• empty lines and comment lines

Value can take multiple lines with \ at the end of the line for continuation.

Value can be a string, integer, double or boolean type. Boolean values:

• True value is any of: "yes", "1", "true" or empty value
• False value is any of: "no" "0", "false" Boolean values are not case sensitive, e.g.: "yes" is same as "YeS" and it is a true value Double values must be in "C" locale, which means using dot as decimals separator, i.e.: -123456.78e+9

Comments are optional and can start from either semicolon or hash sign at any position of the line. You can escape comment separator by putting value in single 'apostrophes' or double "quotes".

Example of ini-file format recorgnized by openM++:

[Test]    ; section is required, global entries are not allowed
          # this is also a comment
          ; next line is empty value without comment
non =
rem =                                             ; comment only and empty value
val = no comments
dsn = "DSN='server'; UID='user'; PWD='secret';"   ; database connection string example
lst = "the # quick" brown 'fox # jumps ; over'    # use "quote" and 'apostrophe' to escape characters and keep spaces
unb = "unbalanced quote                           ; this is not a comment: it is a value started from " quote

trim = Aname,Bname, \     ; multi-line value joined with spaces trimmed
       Cname,DName        ; result is: Aname,Bname,Cname,DName

; multi-line value started with " quote or ' apostrophe
; right spaces before \ is not trimmed, result is:
; Multi line   text with spaces
;
keep = "Multi line   \
       text with spaces"

; multi-line value started with " quote or ' apostrophe
; result is the same as above:
; Multi line   text with spaces
;
same = "\
       Multi line   \
       text with spaces\
       "

c-prog-win = C:\ \              ; expected result: C:\Program Files \Windows
             Program Files \ \
	     Windows

; General settings
[General]
StartingSeed=16807
Subsamples=8
Cases = 5000        ; only for case-based
SimulationEnd = 100 ; only for time-based
UseSparse = true

#
# override values of above [Test] section with new values
#
[Test]
val=new value of no comments
dsn="new value of UID='user'; PWD='secret';"       ; new database connection string
lst=new value of "the # quick" fox 'jumps # over'  # new list of test words