inirenamesection - does not preserve section order in INI file

[gcue]

hello world =)

not sure if anyone has done this already - wasnt able to find it in the forum.  I would like to rename an INI section and preserve the order of the ini file.

this creates a test INI file

$test_INI = @ScriptDir & "\test.ini"


IniWrite($test_INI, "TEST_1", "abc", "123")
IniWrite($test_INI, "TEST_2", "def", "456")


ShellExecuteWait($test_INI)


IniRenameSection($test_INI, "TEST_1", "TEST_0")


ShellExecuteWait($test_INI)


FileDelete($test_INI)

as you can see, instead of preserving section TEST_1 at the top of the file, renaming it to TEST_0 moves it to the bottom of the file

 

i thought of doing it this way but it's too brute

 

$ini_data = FileRead($test_INI)


FileDelete($test_INI)


$ini_data = StringReplace($ini_data, "[TEST_1]", "[TEST_0]")


FileWrite($test_INI, $ini_data)

anyone have a better way?

thanks in advance!

 

 

[jchd]

Using the *INI* functions, order of sections is irrelevant. Similarly, order of items in a section is irrelevant.

This "orderless" property is common in many containers which offer access thru some kind of key. Order is not guaranteed in an INI file, a Map (our current beta even if Jon has made it order-aware), a scripting dictionary, an SQL table, a filesystem, a hive, etc.

You're managing your ini file manually, so you can manage its internal order, but if the file is to be used by any application using an ini file, then its order doesn't matter.

Edited August 8, 2014 by jchd

[guinness]

Using the *INI* functions, order of sections is irrelevant. Similarly, order of items in a section is irrelevant.

I was just about to say the same, though I was working on an example as well, but my expression is awful and doesn't!

Doesn't work:

; A clumsy example for demonstration purposes only!
Local $sIniFilePath = @ScriptDir & '\Example.ini'
IniWrite($sIniFilePath, 'TEST_1', 'abc', '123')
IniWrite($sIniFilePath, 'TEST_2', 'def', '456')
IniWrite($sIniFilePath, 'TEST_2', 'ghi', '[TEST_1]')

ConsoleWrite('Before: ' & @CRLF & FileRead($sIniFilePath) & @CRLF)

; Rename, as your way is going to do a global rename of everything that contains [TEST_0]
Local $sData = FileRead($sIniFilePath), $sOldSectionName = 'TEST_1', $sRenameSectionName = 'TEST_0'
$sData = StringRegExpReplace($sData, '(?<=(?:^|\n)\[)' & $sOldSectionName & '(?=\]\h*\R)', $sRenameSectionName) ; Doesn't work => (?<=(?:^|\n)\[)'
ConsoleWrite('After: ' & @CRLF & $sData & @CRLF)

; Cleanup.
FileDelete($sIniFilePath)

[ZacUSNYR]

I had a situation where I use an Ini file to create an auto it function that returns an array to generate my system tray menu. It needed to be ordered a specific way so I added a displayorder field and kept it a 4 digit int.

Reading it in I gathered that field and sort the array. Works great and allows me to move items wherever in the array by changing display id

[jchd]

I didn't say it was either impossible, forbidden or useless, just that this isn't a property inherent to *.INI format so complaining about orderlessness of sections thru INI* functions is moot.

[guinness]

Ini files are also a legacy format for storing data (strings only!). Of course we use them occasionally, but at least some of us are aware of the limitations they have.

Edited August 8, 2014 by guinness

[guinness]

Fixed my code gcue...

Global Const $STR_REPLACE_ONCE = 1

; A clumsy example for demonstration purposes only!
Local $sIniFilePath = @ScriptDir & '\Example.ini'
IniWrite($sIniFilePath, 'TEST_1', 'abc', '123')
IniWrite($sIniFilePath, 'TEST_2', 'def', '456')
IniWrite($sIniFilePath, 'TEST_2', 'ghi', '[TEST_1]')

ConsoleWrite('Before: ' & @CRLF & FileRead($sIniFilePath) & @CRLF)

; Rename, as your way is going to do a global rename of everything that contains [TEST_0]
Local $sData = FileRead($sIniFilePath), $sOldSectionName = 'TEST_1', $sRenameSectionName = 'TEST_0'
$sData = StringRegExpReplace($sData, '(?:(?<=^\[|\n\[))' & $sOldSectionName & '(?=\]\h*\R)', $sRenameSectionName, $STR_REPLACE_ONCE) ; Doesn't work => (?<=(?:^|\n)\[)'
ConsoleWrite('After: ' & @CRLF & $sData & @CRLF)

; Cleanup.
FileDelete($sIniFilePath)

[gcue]

awesome thanks guiness =)

[guinness]

I love regular expressions...

Local $sUsername = StringRegExpReplace('guiness',  '(?<=i)(n)(?!n)', '\1n')
ConsoleWrite('guinness: ' & $sUsername & @CRLF)