Configuration files
Configuration files are a crucial component of many Python applications. They allow developers to separate the main application code from settings and parameters. This separation is helpful for maintaining, managing, and distributing software, especially when an application needs to run in different environments – such as development, production, testing – with different configurations.
Configuration files allow:
- Flexibility: Users can change the behaviour of an application without modifying its code. This is particularly useful for applications that are deployed across different environments, or require credentials to a database, API keys, and so on.
- Security: Sensitive information, like authentication credentials, API keys, or secret tokens, should be kept out of the source code and managed separately from the codebase.
Common formats
Configuration files can be written in several formats, each of which has its own syntax and features. A few popular...
