Go Config Parser

A lightweight, intuitive configuration parser for Go applications with a clean, readable syntax.`

Features

• Simple, human-readable configuration format
• Strong typing with automatic type conversion
• Nested structures with dot notation access
• Support for arrays and maps
• Inline and block comments
• Fast parsing with no dependencies
• Full test coverage

Configuration Format

This parser uses a clean, minimal syntax that's easy to read and write:

host  "localhost"
port  8080
debug true

allowed_ips {
    "192.168.1.1"
    "192.168.1.2"
    "10.0.0.1"
}

database {
    host "db.example.com"
    port 5432
    credentials {
        username "admin"
        password "secure123"
    }
}

-- This is a line comment
--[[ This is a
     block comment spanning
     multiple lines ]]

Installation

go get git.sharkk.net/Go/Config

Usage

Basic Usage

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "os"
    
    config "git.sharkk.net/Go/Config"
)

func main() {
    // Load configuration from file
    file, err := os.Open("config.conf")
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer file.Close()
    
    cfg, err := config.Load(file)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    
    // Access values with type conversion
    host, err := cfg.GetString("database.host")
    port, err := cfg.GetInt("database.port")
    debug, err := cfg.GetBool("debug")
    
    // Use default values for missing keys
    timeout := cfg.GetOr("timeout", 30).(int64)
}

Type Conversion

The parser automatically converts values to appropriate types:

// These will return properly typed values
boolValue, err := cfg.GetBool("feature.enabled")
intValue, err := cfg.GetInt("server.port")
floatValue, err := cfg.GetFloat("threshold")
stringValue, err := cfg.GetString("app.name")

// For complex types
arrayValue, err := cfg.GetArray("allowed_ips")
mapValue, err := cfg.GetMap("database")

// Generic getter (returns interface{})
value, err := cfg.Get("some.key")

Accessing Arrays and Maps

Access array elements and nested map values using dot notation:

// Access the first element in the array
firstIP, err := cfg.GetString("allowed_ips.0")

// Access deeply nested values
username, err := cfg.GetString("database.credentials.username")

Performance

This parser provides competitive performance compared to popular formats like JSON, YAML, and TOML:

Benchmark	Operations	Time (ns/op)	Memory (B/op)	Allocations (allocs/op)
Small Config Files
Config	718,893	1,611	5,256	25
JSON	1,000,000	1,170	1,384	23
YAML	213,438	5,668	8,888	82
TOML	273,586	4,505	4,520	67
Medium Config Files
Config	138,517	8,777	11,247	114
JSON	241,069	4,996	5,344	89
YAML	47,695	24,183	21,577	347
TOML	66,411	17,709	16,349	208
Large Config Files
Config	33,177	35,591	31,791	477
JSON	66,384	18,066	18,138	297
YAML	12,482	95,248	65,574	1,208
TOML	17,594	67,928	66,038	669

Benchmarked on AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16-Core Processor

Why Choose This Parser?

• Readability: Simple syntax that's easy for humans to read and write
• Flexibility: Supports various data types and nested structures
• Performance: Fast parsing with minimal overhead
• Type Safety: Strong typing with automatic conversion
• Simplicity: No external dependencies required

License

MIT