Padre::Config(3) Configuration subsystem for Padre

SYNOPSIS


use Padre::Config;
[...]
if ( Padre::Config->main_statusbar ) { [...] }

DESCRIPTION

This module not only stores the complete Padre configuration, it also holds the functions for loading and saving the configuration.

The Padre configuration lives in two places:

a user-editable text file usually called config.yml
an SQLite database which shouldn't be edited by the user

Generic usage

Every setting is accessed by a mutator named after it as follows: 

  # Get the identity of the current user
  my $name = $config->identity_name;
  
  # Set the identity of the current user
  my $changed = $config->identity_name("John Smith");

Different types of settings

Padre needs to store different types of settings, storing them in different places depending on their impact. "Padre::Config" allows one to access them with a unified API (a mutator).

Here are the various types of settings that "Padre::Config" can manage:

  • User settings

    Those settings are general settings that relates to user preferences. They range from general user interface look & feel (whether to show the line numbers, etc.) to editor preferences (tab width, etc.) and other personal settings.

    Those settings are stored in a YAML file in your configuration directory (which you can see in the About dialog)

  • Host settings

    Those preferences are related to the host on which Padre is run. The principal example of those settings is the locatio of the main window appearance, and other values which could be different between different operating systems and machines.

    Those settings are stored in a SQLite file.

  • Project settings

    Those preferences are related to the project of the file you are currently editing and allow, in principle, projects to set policies on certain values.

    Examples of those settings are whether to use tabs or spaces, etc.

METHODS

While the vast majority of the methods for this class are mutator front ends, a number of methods exist which allow you to interact with the config system more directly.

settings

  my @names = Padre::Config->settings;

Returns the names of all registered settings as a sorted list.

read

  my $config = Padre::Config->read;

The "read" method reads and loads the config singleton for the current instance of Padre from the various places it is stored, or returns the singleton again if it has already been loaded.

Returns a Padre::Config object, or throws an exception if loaded of the configuration fails.

meta

  my $setting = Padre::Config->meta("identity_name");

The "meta" method finds the configuration metadata for a named setting.

Returns a Padre::Config::Setting object, or throws an exception if the named setting does not exist.

default

  my $value = Padre::Config->default("main_directory_panel");

The "default" method reports the default value for the setting in the context of the currently running instance of Padre (some settings may have different default on different operating systems, for example)

Returns a value that is legal for the setting type, or throws an exception if the named setting does not exist.

changed

  my $same = ! $config->changed( "identity_name", "John Smith" );

The "changed" method takes a named setting and a value for that setting, and determines if setting that value on the config would result in the configuration being changed.

Returns true if the value provided is different to the current setting, or false if the value provided is the same (or effectively the same) as the current setting.

set

  my $changed = $config->set("identity_name", "John Smith");

The "set" method takes a named setting and a value and modifies the configuration object to have that value.

Changes made to the configuration in this manner will not be reflected in the running instance, for that you should use the "apply" method.

Returns true, or throws an exception on errors such as a non-existant setting name or an illegal value for that setting type.

apply

  my $changed = $config->apply("main_directory_panel", "right");

The "apply" method is a higher order version of the "set" which will set the configuration value, and then immediately update the running instance of Padre to reflect the change.

For example, if the directory panel is open and on the left side of the display, running the sample code above will change the location preference to the right side and immediately move the directory panel to the other side of the IDE.

See Padre::Config::Apply for more information on Padre's on-the-fly configuration change support.

Returns true if the configuration was changed, false if the value was the same as the existing configuration value and did not need to be modified, or throws an exception on errors such as a non-existant setting name or an illegal value for that setting type.

ADDING CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

Add a ``setting()'' - call to the correct section of this file.

The setting() call initially creates the option and defines some metadata like the type of the option, it's living place and the default value which should be used until the user configures a own value.

COPYRIGHT & LICENSE

Copyright 2008-2013 The Padre development team as listed in Padre.pm.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl 5 itself.

LAST SEARCHED