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PrivateIni
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#Config_Parms Config Parms
#There_are_lots_of_mentions_of_Co There are lots of mentions of Config Parms, what are they?
First expand to full words : Configuration Parameters. In simple English that is set-up details, or build information which can be numbers or words needed to make or build something when there are a few different ways to do it and we want to select a particular style. Let's relate it to a house being built. One of many Config parms for my house in my street is No 17, the house or plot number. The Config Parm for the //Front door colour// is //White//. It has other configuration parameters as well so //Front door handle// is //Brass//. These are not variables, although some can be changed, they are things needed by the builder when he starts the job off. Ok so the builder doesn't need to know the front door colour straight away, but by having it at the beginning he could plan for it. For some things, like //front door lock// status we will probably have a variable to allow for frequent changes from //locked// to //unlocked//, but could also have a Config Parm to tell the builder to start off with it in the //locked// state. (By the way my Config Parm for //spelling// is //Queens English//, the version that doesn't know how to spell colour[color].)
#MH_ini MH.ini
The next problem is how to tell the builder what these selections of Config Parms are. I could write a letter, send an email, or put a note in a bottle and toss it in the river. Instead I write a list and call it **mh.private ini**. That is Misterhouses Private Initialisation. In it I write each selection as subject=choice, eg Front_door_colour=white The builder has helpfully provided a huge list of things I might like to include in a big list called **mh.ini**, ie Misterhouse initialisation. I don't have to tell him everything straight away, I don't even have to have most of the things in his list, I can even add some more things of my own, or I can put in an entry for the Front door colour but leave it blank to show him I thought about it but he can use his standard colour, which in fact he will get from his standard list. Anything he needs to know but isn't in my private list he will get from his standard list so both lists actually exist, but my list is checked first and takes precedence (replaces items in his list).#Example ExampleMyhouse.ini looks like this so far:
- House number = 17
- Front door colour = white
- Front door lock = locked
#Technobabble Technobabble
Some of the things in both lists may be incomprehensible to me, but my architect tells me they need to be included for completeness so I copy it down faithfully if told to change from the default list, eg //Front door lintel = RSJ to BS 1234// (that's builders lingo for Reinforced Steel Joist to British Standard 1234 but we didn't need to know that). You will find lots of xyz.ini files around your computer for lots of different programs. The idea is to put all the things you might like to change in one list, instead of having them dotted all round the program.
#Startup Startup
When Misterhouse starts it reads the mh.private.ini then everything else from mh.ini and puts all the information in a store (called a perl hash). As you may have realised you could do it by just editing bits of the main mh.ini file, but then you would lose the reference set if you wanted to undo changes. Also the separate file makes it easier to see what you have defined instead of sorting through the large main file.
#Web_editor Web editor
The original instructions for setting up MH required you to create a text file in Notepad and put the things you wanted to give special values in it and save it as mh.Private.ini. However things have moved on and now there is a web based editor. You have to have got the MH server running first to use that though.