EnvironmentConfig is a simple configuration-file-location concept that also allows multiple developers to work with different application configurations on the same repository. EnvironmentConfig does not aim to replace other configuration files, but provides a concept to easily find a configuration file. You can use EnvironmentConfig to locate the real config file.

Concept

A file named environment.config is searched down the path beginning with the folder of the executing assembly. Example: The assembly is located here: C:/Projects/MySolution/MyProject1/bin/Debug/MyProject1.exe You could place environment.config in any parent folder like:

• C:/Projects/MySolution/MyProject1/bin/Debug/environment.config
• C:/Projects/MySolution/MyProject1/bin/environment.config
• C:/Projects/MySolution/MyProject1/environment.config - this is recommended for a Project configuration
• C:/Projects/MySolution/environment.config - this is recommended for a solution wide configuration
• C:/Projects/environment.config - configuration for all projects. Not recommended.
• C:/environment.config - configuration for all projects in C:/. Not recommended.

The environment.config can be different for every user. So do not add it to the repository, add it to .gitignore. Instead create a file named environment.default.config. If a parent folder contains no environment.config but a environment.default.config the environment.default.config ist tried to be copied to environment.config. If it fails (e.g. due to write permission reasons), the environment.default.config is used. Otherwise the settings from the newly copied environment.config is used.

Motivations

The search down the folder structure is used, because most of the times the /bin, /debug or /release folders are not committed. That means configuration files placed there won't be commited to the repository. With EnvironmentConfig you can place the configuration in any parent folder that is commited to the repository. Also different users or IDEs prefer different output folders for the compiler. When the configuration file can be placed in any parent folder, the exact structure does not matter. The assembly always can find the configuration file.

The users or developers may all want to work on the same repository but work with different configurations. Imagine:

• The developer works with database="localhost/dev",
• The tester works with database="test_server/test",
• And at the user it works with database="company_server/solution1",

So the configurations must not be pushed to the repository. That's the reason why environment.config should be added to .gitignore. But you should add an environment.default.config instead and push it to the repository. So the user knows where the config should be placed and also has the default example configuration.

Example Usage

• copy EnvironmentConfig.cs into your project
• add to .gitignore:

# EnvironmentConfig
environment.config

• in a parent folder, create the file environment.default.config:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<EnvironmentConfig>
  <images>{environment}/img</images>
</EnvironmentConfig>

• also create the folder img in the same folder as environment.default.config.
• in your code:

EnvironmentConfig config = EnvironmentConfig.Find();
string images = config.XmlGetPath("images");

• Done!