Parsing a Document

In its simplest form, you can parse a document like this:

import erbsland.conf as elcl

try:
    doc = elcl.load("configuration.elcl")
    server_port = doc["server.port"].as_int()
    # ...
except elcl.Error as e:
    print(f"Failed to load configuration: {e}")

This approach is usually all you need: it loads the document, validates it, and gives you access to its values.

Using a Parser Instance

If you want more control over how documents are handled—for example:

controlling how included configuration files are resolved,
limiting access to the filesystem, or
verifying a document with a signature check—

you can create an explicit Parser instance instead.

import erbsland.conf as elcl

parser = elcl.Parser()
flags = (
    elcl.AccessFeature.SAME_DIRECTORY |
    elcl.AccessFeature.SUBDIRECTORIES |
    elcl.AccessFeature.LIMIT_SIZE |
    elcl.AccessFeature.REQUIRE_SUFFIX
)
access_check = elcl.FileAccessCheck(flags)
parser.access_check = access_check

try:
    doc = parser.parse("configuration.elcl")
    # ...
except elcl.Error as e:
    print(f"Failed to load configuration: {e}")

The same parser instance can be reused to parse multiple documents. This is useful if you need to apply the same access policies or validation rules consistently across different files.

Accessing the Values in the Parsed Document →