001/*
002 * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
003 * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
004 * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
005 * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
006 * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
007 * the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
008 *
009 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
010 *
011 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
012 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
013 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
014 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
015 * limitations under the License.
016 */
017package org.apache.commons.configuration2;
018
019import java.io.BufferedReader;
020import java.io.IOException;
021import java.io.PrintWriter;
022import java.io.Reader;
023import java.io.Writer;
024import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
025import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
026import java.util.List;
027import java.util.Map;
028import java.util.Set;
029import java.util.stream.Collectors;
030
031import org.apache.commons.configuration2.convert.ListDelimiterHandler;
032import org.apache.commons.configuration2.ex.ConfigurationException;
033import org.apache.commons.configuration2.ex.ConfigurationRuntimeException;
034import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.ImmutableNode;
035import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.InMemoryNodeModel;
036import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.InMemoryNodeModelSupport;
037import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.NodeHandler;
038import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.NodeHandlerDecorator;
039import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.NodeSelector;
040import org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.TrackedNodeModel;
041
042/**
043 * <p>
044 * A specialized hierarchical configuration implementation for parsing ini files.
045 * </p>
046 * <p>
047 * An initialization or ini file is a configuration file typically found on Microsoft's Windows operating system and
048 * contains data for Windows based applications.
049 * </p>
050 * <p>
051 * Although popularized by Windows, ini files can be used on any system or platform due to the fact that they are merely
052 * text files that can easily be parsed and modified by both humans and computers.
053 * </p>
054 * <p>
055 * A typical ini file could look something like:
056 * </p>
057 *
058 * <pre>
059 * [section1]
060 * ; this is a comment!
061 * var1 = foo
062 * var2 = bar
063 *
064 * [section2]
065 * var1 = doo
066 * </pre>
067 * <p>
068 * The format of ini files is fairly straight forward and is composed of three components:
069 * </p>
070 * <ul>
071 * <li><strong>Sections:</strong> Ini files are split into sections, each section starting with a section declaration. A section
072 * declaration starts with a '[' and ends with a ']'. Sections occur on one line only.</li>
073 * <li><strong>Parameters:</strong> Items in a section are known as parameters. Parameters have a typical {@code key = value}
074 * format.</li>
075 * <li><strong>Comments:</strong> Lines starting with a ';' are assumed to be comments.</li>
076 * </ul>
077 * <p>
078 * There are various implementations of the ini file format by various vendors which has caused a number of differences
079 * to appear. As far as possible this configuration tries to be lenient and support most of the differences.
080 * </p>
081 * <p>
082 * Some of the differences supported are as follows:
083 * </p>
084 * <ul>
085 * <li><strong>Comments:</strong> The '#' character is also accepted as a comment signifier.</li>
086 * <li><strong>Key value separator:</strong> The ':' character is also accepted in place of '=' to separate keys and values in
087 * parameters, for example {@code var1 : foo}.</li>
088 * <li><strong>Duplicate sections:</strong> Typically duplicate sections are not allowed, this configuration does however support
089 * this feature. In the event of a duplicate section, the two section's values are merged so that there is only a single
090 * section. <strong>Note</strong>: This also affects the internal data of the configuration. If it is saved, only a
091 * single section is written!</li>
092 * <li><strong>Duplicate parameters:</strong> Typically duplicate parameters are only allowed if they are in two different
093 * sections, thus they are local to sections; this configuration simply merges duplicates; if a section has a duplicate
094 * parameter the values are then added to the key as a list.</li>
095 * </ul>
096 * <p>
097 * Global parameters are also allowed; any parameters declared before a section is declared are added to a global
098 * section. It is important to note that this global section does not have a name.
099 * </p>
100 * <p>
101 * In all instances, a parameter's key is prepended with its section name and a '.' (period). Thus a parameter named
102 * "var1" in "section1" will have the key {@code section1.var1} in this configuration. (This is the default behavior.
103 * Because this is a hierarchical configuration you can change this by setting a different
104 * {@link org.apache.commons.configuration2.tree.ExpressionEngine}.)
105 * </p>
106 * <p>
107 * <strong>Implementation Details:</strong> Consider the following ini file:
108 * </p>
109 * <pre>
110 *  default = ok
111 *
112 *  [section1]
113 *  var1 = foo
114 *  var2 = doodle
115 *
116 *  [section2]
117 *  ; a comment
118 *  var1 = baz
119 *  var2 = shoodle
120 *  bad =
121 *  = worse
122 *
123 *  [section3]
124 *  # another comment
125 *  var1 : foo
126 *  var2 : bar
127 *  var5 : test1
128 *
129 *  [section3]
130 *  var3 = foo
131 *  var4 = bar
132 *  var5 = test2
133 *
134 *  [sectionSeparators]
135 *  passwd : abc=def
136 *  a:b = "value"
137 *
138 *  []
139 *  var = emptySection
140 * </pre>
141 * <p>
142 * This ini file will be parsed without error. Note:
143 * </p>
144 * <ul>
145 * <li>The parameter named "default" is added to the global section, it's value is accessed simply using
146 * {@code getProperty("default")}.</li>
147 * <li>Section 1's parameters can be accessed using {@code getProperty("section1.var1")}.</li>
148 * <li>The parameter named "bad" simply adds the parameter with an empty value.</li>
149 * <li>The empty key with value "= worse" is added using a key consisting of a single space character. This key is still
150 * added to section 2 and the value can be accessed using {@code getProperty("section2. ")}, notice the period '.' and
151 * the space following the section name.</li>
152 * <li>Section three uses both '=' and ':' to separate keys and values.</li>
153 * <li>Section 3 has a duplicate key named "var5". The value for this key is [test1, test2], and is represented as a
154 * List.</li>
155 * <li>The section called <em>sectionSeparators</em> demonstrates how the configuration deals with multiple occurrences
156 * of separator characters. Per default the first separator character in a line is detected and used to split the key
157 * from the value. Therefore the first property definition in this section has the key {@code passwd} and the value
158 * {@code abc=def}. This default behavior can be changed by using quotes. If there is a separator character before the
159 * first quote character (ignoring whitespace), this character is used as separator. Thus the second property definition
160 * in the section has the key {@code a:b} and the value {@code value}.</li>
161 * <li>The empty section is added using a key consisting of a single space character. The parameters can be accessed
162 * using {@code getProperty(" .var")}</li>
163 * </ul>
164 * <p>
165 * Internally, this configuration maps the content of the represented ini file to its node structure in the following
166 * way:
167 * </p>
168 * <ul>
169 * <li>Sections are represented by direct child nodes of the root node.</li>
170 * <li>For the content of a section, corresponding nodes are created as children of the section node.</li>
171 * </ul>
172 * <p>
173 * This explains how the keys for the properties can be constructed. You can also use other methods of
174 * {@link HierarchicalConfiguration} for querying or manipulating the hierarchy of configuration nodes, for instance the
175 * {@code configurationAt()} method for obtaining the data of a specific section. However, be careful that the storage
176 * scheme described above is not violated (for example by adding multiple levels of nodes or inserting duplicate section
177 * nodes). Otherwise, the special methods for ini configurations may not work correctly!
178 * </p>
179 * <p>
180 * The set of sections in this configuration can be retrieved using the {@code getSections()} method. For obtaining a
181 * {@code SubnodeConfiguration} with the content of a specific section the {@code getSection()} method can be used.
182 * </p>
183 * <p>
184 * Like other {@code Configuration} implementations, this class uses a {@code Synchronizer} object to control concurrent
185 * access. By choosing a suitable implementation of the {@code Synchronizer} interface, an instance can be made
186 * thread-safe or not. Note that access to most of the properties typically set through a builder is not protected by
187 * the {@code Synchronizer}. The intended usage is that these properties are set once at construction time through the
188 * builder and after that remain constant. If you wish to change such properties during life time of an instance, you
189 * have to use the {@code lock()} and {@code unlock()} methods manually to ensure that other threads see your changes.
190 * </p>
191 * <p>
192 * As this class extends {@link AbstractConfiguration}, all basic features like variable interpolation, list handling,
193 * or data type conversions are available as well. This is described in the chapter
194 * <a href="https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-configuration/userguide/howto_basicfeatures.html"> Basic features
195 * and AbstractConfiguration</a> of the user's guide.
196 * </p>
197 * <p>
198 * Note that this configuration does not support properties with null values. Such properties are considered to be
199 * section nodes.
200 * </p>
201 *
202 * @since 1.6
203 */
204public class INIConfiguration extends BaseHierarchicalConfiguration implements FileBasedConfiguration {
205
206    /**
207     * Builds instances of INIConfiguration.
208     *
209     * @since 2.9.0
210     */
211    public static class Builder {
212
213        /**
214         * Whether in-line comments on the section line are allowed.
215         */
216        private boolean sectionInLineCommentsAllowed;
217
218        /**
219         * Builds a new INIConfiguration.
220         *
221         * @return a new INIConfiguration.
222         */
223        public INIConfiguration build() {
224            return new INIConfiguration(sectionInLineCommentsAllowed);
225        }
226
227        /**
228         * Sets whether in-line comments on the section line are allowed.
229         *
230         * @param sectionInLineCommentsAllowed Whether in-line comments on the section line are allowed.
231         * @return this instance.
232         */
233        public Builder setSectionInLineCommentsAllowed(final boolean sectionInLineCommentsAllowed) {
234            this.sectionInLineCommentsAllowed = sectionInLineCommentsAllowed;
235            return this;
236        }
237
238    }
239
240    /**
241     * A specialized node model implementation for the sub configuration representing the global section of the INI file.
242     * This is a regular {@code TrackedNodeModel} with one exception: The {@code NodeHandler} used by this model applies a
243     * filter on the children of the root node so that only nodes are visible that are no sub sections.
244     */
245    private static final class GlobalSectionNodeModel extends TrackedNodeModel {
246        /**
247         * Creates a new instance of {@code GlobalSectionNodeModel} and initializes it with the given underlying model.
248         *
249         * @param modelSupport the underlying {@code InMemoryNodeModel}
250         * @param selector the {@code NodeSelector}
251         */
252        public GlobalSectionNodeModel(final InMemoryNodeModelSupport modelSupport, final NodeSelector selector) {
253            super(modelSupport, selector, true);
254        }
255
256        @Override
257        public NodeHandler<ImmutableNode> getNodeHandler() {
258            return new NodeHandlerDecorator<ImmutableNode>() {
259                /**
260                 * Filters the child nodes of the global section. This method checks whether the passed in node is the root node of the
261                 * configuration. If so, from the list of children all nodes are filtered which are section nodes.
262                 *
263                 * @param node the node in question
264                 * @param children the children of this node
265                 * @return a list with the filtered children
266                 */
267                private List<ImmutableNode> filterChildrenOfGlobalSection(final ImmutableNode node, final List<ImmutableNode> children) {
268                    final List<ImmutableNode> filteredList;
269                    if (node == getRootNode()) {
270                        filteredList = children.stream().filter(child -> !isSectionNode(child)).collect(Collectors.toList());
271                    } else {
272                        filteredList = children;
273                    }
274
275                    return filteredList;
276                }
277
278                @Override
279                public ImmutableNode getChild(final ImmutableNode node, final int index) {
280                    final List<ImmutableNode> children = super.getChildren(node);
281                    return filterChildrenOfGlobalSection(node, children).get(index);
282                }
283
284                @Override
285                public List<ImmutableNode> getChildren(final ImmutableNode node) {
286                    final List<ImmutableNode> children = super.getChildren(node);
287                    return filterChildrenOfGlobalSection(node, children);
288                }
289
290                @Override
291                public List<ImmutableNode> getChildren(final ImmutableNode node, final String name) {
292                    final List<ImmutableNode> children = super.getChildren(node, name);
293                    return filterChildrenOfGlobalSection(node, children);
294                }
295
296                @Override
297                public int getChildrenCount(final ImmutableNode node, final String name) {
298                    final List<ImmutableNode> children = name != null ? super.getChildren(node, name) : super.getChildren(node);
299                    return filterChildrenOfGlobalSection(node, children).size();
300                }
301
302                @Override
303                protected NodeHandler<ImmutableNode> getDecoratedNodeHandler() {
304                    return GlobalSectionNodeModel.super.getNodeHandler();
305                }
306
307                @Override
308                public int indexOfChild(final ImmutableNode parent, final ImmutableNode child) {
309                    final List<ImmutableNode> children = super.getChildren(parent);
310                    return filterChildrenOfGlobalSection(parent, children).indexOf(child);
311                }
312            };
313        }
314    }
315
316    /**
317     * The empty key.
318     */
319    private static final String EMPTY_KEY = " ";
320
321    /**
322     * The default characters that signal the start of a comment line.
323     */
324    protected static final String COMMENT_CHARS = "#;";
325
326    /**
327     * The default characters used to separate keys from values.
328     */
329    protected static final String SEPARATOR_CHARS = "=:";
330
331    /**
332     * Constant for the line separator.
333     */
334    private static final String LINE_SEPARATOR = System.lineSeparator();
335
336    /**
337     * The characters used for quoting values.
338     */
339    private static final String QUOTE_CHARACTERS = "\"'";
340
341    /**
342     * The line continuation character.
343     */
344    private static final String LINE_CONT = "\\";
345
346    /**
347     * Creates a new builder.
348     *
349     * @return a new builder.
350     * @since 2.9.0
351     */
352    public static Builder builder() {
353        return new Builder();
354    }
355
356    /**
357     * Creates a new root node from the builders constructed while reading the configuration file.
358     *
359     * @param rootBuilder the builder for the top-level section
360     * @param sectionBuilders a map storing the section builders
361     * @return the root node of the newly created hierarchy
362     */
363    private static ImmutableNode createNewRootNode(final ImmutableNode.Builder rootBuilder, final Map<String, ImmutableNode.Builder> sectionBuilders) {
364        sectionBuilders.forEach((k, v) -> rootBuilder.addChild(v.name(k).create()));
365        return rootBuilder.create();
366    }
367
368    /**
369     * Checks for the occurrence of the specified separators in the given line. The index of the first separator is
370     * returned.
371     *
372     * @param line the line to be investigated
373     * @param separators a string with the separator characters to look for
374     * @return the lowest index of a separator character or -1 if no separator is found
375     */
376    private static int findFirstOccurrence(final String line, final String separators) {
377        int index = -1;
378
379        for (int i = 0; i < separators.length(); i++) {
380            final char sep = separators.charAt(i);
381            final int pos = line.indexOf(sep);
382            if (pos >= 0 && (index < 0 || pos < index)) {
383                index = pos;
384            }
385        }
386
387        return index;
388    }
389
390    /**
391     * Searches for a separator character directly before a quoting character. If the first non-whitespace character before
392     * a quote character is a separator, it is considered the "real" separator in this line - even if there are other
393     * separators before.
394     *
395     * @param line the line to be investigated
396     * @param quoteIndex the index of the quote character
397     * @return the index of the separator before the quote or &lt; 0 if there is none
398     */
399    private static int findSeparatorBeforeQuote(final String line, final int quoteIndex) {
400        int index = quoteIndex - 1;
401        while (index >= 0 && Character.isWhitespace(line.charAt(index))) {
402            index--;
403        }
404
405        if (index >= 0 && SEPARATOR_CHARS.indexOf(line.charAt(index)) < 0) {
406            index = -1;
407        }
408
409        return index;
410    }
411
412    /**
413     * Determine if the given line contains a section - inline comments are allowed.
414     *
415     * @param line The line to check.
416     * @return true if the line contains a section
417     */
418    private static boolean isNonStrictSection(final String line) {
419        return line.startsWith("[") && line.contains("]");
420    }
421
422    /**
423     * Checks whether the specified configuration node represents a section.
424     *
425     * @param node the node in question
426     * @return a flag whether this node represents a section
427     */
428    private static boolean isSectionNode(final ImmutableNode node) {
429        return node.getValue() == null;
430    }
431
432    /**
433     * Determine if the entire given line is a section - inline comments are not allowed.
434     *
435     * @param line The line to check.
436     * @return true if the entire line is a section
437     */
438    private static boolean isStrictSection(final String line) {
439        return line.startsWith("[") && line.endsWith("]");
440    }
441
442    /**
443     * Tests whether the specified string contains a line continuation marker.
444     *
445     * @param line the string to check
446     * @return a flag whether this line continues
447     */
448    private static boolean lineContinues(final String line) {
449        final String s = line.trim();
450        return s.equals(LINE_CONT) || s.length() > 2 && s.endsWith(LINE_CONT) && Character.isWhitespace(s.charAt(s.length() - 2));
451    }
452
453    /**
454     * The separator used when writing an INI file.
455     */
456    private String separatorUsedInOutput = " = ";
457
458    /**
459     * The separator used when reading an INI file.
460     */
461    private String separatorUsedInInput = SEPARATOR_CHARS;
462
463    /**
464     * The characters used to separate keys from values when reading an INI file.
465     */
466    private String commentCharsUsedInInput = COMMENT_CHARS;
467
468    /**
469     * The flag for decision, whether inline comments on the section line are allowed.
470     */
471    private boolean sectionInLineCommentsAllowed;
472
473    /**
474     * Create a new empty INI Configuration.
475     */
476    public INIConfiguration() {
477    }
478
479    /**
480     * Create a new empty INI Configuration with option to allow inline comments on the section line.
481     *
482     * @param sectionInLineCommentsAllowed when true inline comments on the section line are allowed
483     */
484    private INIConfiguration(final boolean sectionInLineCommentsAllowed) {
485        this.sectionInLineCommentsAllowed = sectionInLineCommentsAllowed;
486    }
487
488    /**
489     * Creates a new instance of {@code INIConfiguration} with the content of the specified
490     * {@code HierarchicalConfiguration}.
491     *
492     * @param c the configuration to be copied
493     * @since 2.0
494     */
495    public INIConfiguration(final HierarchicalConfiguration<ImmutableNode> c) {
496        super(c);
497    }
498
499    /**
500     * Reads the content of an INI file from the passed in reader and creates a structure of builders for constructing the
501     * {@code ImmutableNode} objects representing the data.
502     *
503     * @param in the reader
504     * @param rootBuilder the builder for the top-level section
505     * @param sectionBuilders a map storing the section builders
506     * @throws IOException if an I/O error occurs.
507     */
508    private void createNodeBuilders(final BufferedReader in, final ImmutableNode.Builder rootBuilder, final Map<String, ImmutableNode.Builder> sectionBuilders)
509        throws IOException {
510        ImmutableNode.Builder sectionBuilder = rootBuilder;
511        String line = in.readLine();
512        while (line != null) {
513            line = line.trim();
514            if (!isCommentLine(line)) {
515                if (isSectionLine(line)) {
516                    final int length = sectionInLineCommentsAllowed ? line.indexOf("]") : line.length() - 1;
517                    String section = line.substring(1, length);
518                    if (section.isEmpty()) {
519                        // use space for sections with no key
520                        section = EMPTY_KEY;
521                    }
522                    sectionBuilder = sectionBuilders.computeIfAbsent(section, k -> new ImmutableNode.Builder());
523                } else {
524                    String key;
525                    String value = "";
526                    final int index = findSeparator(line);
527                    if (index >= 0) {
528                        key = line.substring(0, index);
529                        value = parseValue(line.substring(index + 1), in);
530                    } else {
531                        key = line;
532                    }
533                    key = key.trim();
534                    if (key.isEmpty()) {
535                        // use space for properties with no key
536                        key = EMPTY_KEY;
537                    }
538                    createValueNodes(sectionBuilder, key, value);
539                }
540            }
541
542            line = in.readLine();
543        }
544    }
545
546    /**
547     * Creates the node(s) for the given key value-pair. If delimiter parsing is enabled, the value string is split if
548     * possible, and for each single value a node is created. Otherwise only a single node is added to the section.
549     *
550     * @param sectionBuilder the section builder for adding new nodes
551     * @param key the key
552     * @param value the value string
553     */
554    private void createValueNodes(final ImmutableNode.Builder sectionBuilder, final String key, final String value) {
555        getListDelimiterHandler().split(value, false).forEach(v -> sectionBuilder.addChild(new ImmutableNode.Builder().name(key).value(v).create()));
556    }
557
558    /**
559     * Escapes comment characters in the given value.
560     *
561     * @param value the value to be escaped
562     * @return the value with comment characters escaped
563     */
564    private String escapeComments(final String value) {
565        final String commentChars = getCommentLeadingCharsUsedInInput();
566        boolean quoted = false;
567
568        for (int i = 0; i < commentChars.length(); i++) {
569            final char c = commentChars.charAt(i);
570            if (value.indexOf(c) != -1) {
571                quoted = true;
572                break;
573            }
574        }
575
576        if (quoted) {
577            return '"' + value.replace("\"", "\\\"") + '"';
578        }
579        return value;
580    }
581
582    /**
583     * Escapes the given property value before it is written. This method add quotes around the specified value if it
584     * contains a comment character and handles list delimiter characters.
585     *
586     * @param value the string to be escaped
587     */
588    private String escapeValue(final String value) {
589        return String.valueOf(getListDelimiterHandler().escape(escapeComments(value), ListDelimiterHandler.NOOP_TRANSFORMER));
590    }
591
592    /**
593     * Tries to find the index of the separator character in the given string. This method checks for the presence of
594     * separator characters in the given string. If multiple characters are found, the first one is assumed to be the
595     * correct separator. If there are quoting characters, they are taken into account, too.
596     *
597     * @param line the line to be checked
598     * @return the index of the separator character or -1 if none is found
599     */
600    private int findSeparator(final String line) {
601        int index = findSeparatorBeforeQuote(line, findFirstOccurrence(line, QUOTE_CHARACTERS));
602        if (index < 0) {
603            index = findFirstOccurrence(line, getSeparatorUsedInInput());
604        }
605        return index;
606    }
607
608    /**
609     * Gets comment leading separator used in INI reading. see {@code setCommentLeadingCharsUsedInInput} for further
610     * explanation
611     *
612     * @return the current separator for reading the INI input
613     * @since 2.5
614     */
615    public String getCommentLeadingCharsUsedInInput() {
616        return syncReadValue(commentCharsUsedInInput, false);
617    }
618
619    /**
620     * Creates a sub configuration for the global section of the represented INI configuration.
621     *
622     * @return the sub configuration for the global section
623     */
624    private SubnodeConfiguration getGlobalSection() {
625        final InMemoryNodeModel parentModel = getSubConfigurationParentModel();
626        final NodeSelector selector = new NodeSelector(null); // selects parent
627        parentModel.trackNode(selector, this);
628        final GlobalSectionNodeModel model = new GlobalSectionNodeModel(this, selector);
629        final SubnodeConfiguration sub = new SubnodeConfiguration(this, model);
630        initSubConfigurationForThisParent(sub);
631        return sub;
632    }
633
634    /**
635     * Gets a configuration with the content of the specified section. This provides an easy way of working with a single
636     * section only. The way this configuration is structured internally, this method is very similar to calling
637     * {@link HierarchicalConfiguration#configurationAt(String)} with the name of the section in question. There are the
638     * following differences however:
639     * <ul>
640     * <li>This method never throws an exception. If the section does not exist, it is created now. The configuration
641     * returned in this case is empty.</li>
642     * <li>If section is contained multiple times in the configuration, the configuration returned by this method is
643     * initialized with the first occurrence of the section. (This can only happen if {@code addProperty()} has been used in
644     * a way that does not conform to the storage scheme used by {@code INIConfiguration}. If used correctly, there will not
645     * be duplicate sections.)</li>
646     * <li>There is special support for the global section: Passing in <strong>null</strong> as section name returns a configuration
647     * with the content of the global section (which may also be empty).</li>
648     * </ul>
649     *
650     * @param name the name of the section in question; <strong>null</strong> represents the global section
651     * @return a configuration containing only the properties of the specified section
652     */
653    public SubnodeConfiguration getSection(final String name) {
654        if (name == null) {
655            return getGlobalSection();
656        }
657        try {
658            return (SubnodeConfiguration) configurationAt(name, true);
659        } catch (final ConfigurationRuntimeException iex) {
660            // the passed in key does not map to exactly one node
661            // obtain the node for the section, create it on demand
662            final InMemoryNodeModel parentModel = getSubConfigurationParentModel();
663            final NodeSelector selector = parentModel.trackChildNodeWithCreation(null, name, this);
664            return createSubConfigurationForTrackedNode(selector, this);
665        }
666    }
667
668    /**
669     * Gets a set containing the sections in this INI configuration. Note that changes to this set do not affect the
670     * configuration.
671     *
672     * @return a set containing the sections.
673     */
674    public Set<String> getSections() {
675        return syncRead(() -> {
676            final Set<String> sections = new LinkedHashSet<>();
677            boolean globalSection = false;
678            boolean inSection = false;
679            for (final ImmutableNode node : getModel().getNodeHandler().getRootNode().getChildren()) {
680                if (isSectionNode(node)) {
681                    inSection = true;
682                    sections.add(node.getNodeName());
683                } else if (!inSection && !globalSection) {
684                    globalSection = true;
685                    sections.add(null);
686                }
687            }
688            return sections;
689        }, false);
690    }
691
692    /**
693     * Gets separator used in INI reading. see {@code setSeparatorUsedInInput} for further explanation
694     *
695     * @return the current separator for reading the INI input
696     * @since 2.5
697     */
698    public String getSeparatorUsedInInput() {
699        return syncReadValue(separatorUsedInInput, false);
700    }
701
702    /**
703     * Gets separator used in INI output. see {@code setSeparatorUsedInOutput} for further explanation
704     *
705     * @return the current separator for writing the INI output
706     * @since 2.2
707     */
708    public String getSeparatorUsedInOutput() {
709        return syncReadValue(separatorUsedInOutput, false);
710    }
711
712    /**
713     * Tests whether the specified character is a comment character.
714     *
715     * @param c the character
716     * @return a flag whether this character starts a comment
717     */
718    private boolean isCommentChar(final char c) {
719        return getCommentLeadingCharsUsedInInput().indexOf(c) >= 0;
720    }
721
722    /**
723     * Determine if the given line is a comment line.
724     *
725     * @param line The line to check.
726     * @return true if the line is empty or starts with one of the comment characters
727     */
728    protected boolean isCommentLine(final String line) {
729        if (line == null) {
730            return false;
731        }
732        // blank lines are also treated as comment lines
733        return line.isEmpty() || getCommentLeadingCharsUsedInInput().indexOf(line.charAt(0)) >= 0;
734    }
735
736    /**
737     * Determine if the given line is a section.
738     *
739     * @param line The line to check.
740     * @return true if the line contains a section
741     */
742    protected boolean isSectionLine(final String line) {
743        if (line == null) {
744            return false;
745        }
746        return sectionInLineCommentsAllowed ? isNonStrictSection(line) : isStrictSection(line);
747    }
748
749    /**
750     * Tests whether the specified string contains a line continuation marker after the specified position. This method
751     * parses the string to remove a comment that might be present. Then it checks whether a line continuation marker can be
752     * found at the end.
753     *
754     * @param line the line to check
755     * @param pos the start position
756     * @return a flag whether this line continues
757     */
758    private boolean lineContinues(final String line, final int pos) {
759        final String s;
760
761        if (pos >= line.length()) {
762            s = line;
763        } else {
764            int end = pos;
765            while (end < line.length() && !isCommentChar(line.charAt(end))) {
766                end++;
767            }
768            s = line.substring(pos, end);
769        }
770
771        return lineContinues(s);
772    }
773
774    /**
775     * Parse the value to remove the quotes and ignoring the comment. Example:
776     *
777     * <pre>
778     * &quot;value&quot; ; comment -&gt; value
779     * </pre>
780     *
781     * <pre>
782     * 'value' ; comment -&gt; value
783     * </pre>
784     *
785     * Note that a comment character is only recognized if there is at least one whitespace character before it. So it can
786     * appear in the property value, for example:
787     *
788     * <pre>
789     * C:\\Windows;C:\\Windows\\system32
790     * </pre>
791     *
792     * @param val the value to be parsed
793     * @param reader the reader (needed if multiple lines have to be read)
794     * @throws IOException if an IO error occurs
795     */
796    private String parseValue(final String val, final BufferedReader reader) throws IOException {
797        final StringBuilder propertyValue = new StringBuilder();
798        boolean lineContinues;
799        String value = val.trim();
800
801        do {
802            final boolean quoted = value.startsWith("\"") || value.startsWith("'");
803            boolean stop = false;
804            boolean escape = false;
805
806            final char quote = quoted ? value.charAt(0) : 0;
807
808            int i = quoted ? 1 : 0;
809
810            final StringBuilder result = new StringBuilder();
811            char lastChar = 0;
812            while (i < value.length() && !stop) {
813                final char c = value.charAt(i);
814
815                if (quoted) {
816                    if ('\\' == c && !escape) {
817                        escape = true;
818                    } else if (!escape && quote == c) {
819                        stop = true;
820                    } else {
821                        if (escape && quote == c) {
822                            escape = false;
823                        } else if (escape) {
824                            escape = false;
825                            result.append('\\');
826                        }
827                        result.append(c);
828                    }
829                } else if (isCommentChar(c) && Character.isWhitespace(lastChar)) {
830                    stop = true;
831                } else {
832                    result.append(c);
833                }
834
835                i++;
836                lastChar = c;
837            }
838
839            String v = result.toString();
840            if (!quoted) {
841                v = v.trim();
842                lineContinues = lineContinues(v);
843                if (lineContinues) {
844                    // remove trailing "\"
845                    v = v.substring(0, v.length() - 1).trim();
846                }
847            } else {
848                lineContinues = lineContinues(value, i);
849            }
850            propertyValue.append(v);
851
852            if (lineContinues) {
853                propertyValue.append(LINE_SEPARATOR);
854                value = reader.readLine();
855            }
856        } while (lineContinues && value != null);
857
858        return propertyValue.toString();
859    }
860
861    /**
862     * Load the configuration from the given reader. Note that the {@code clear()} method is not called so the configuration
863     * read in will be merged with the current configuration.
864     *
865     * @param in the reader to read the configuration from.
866     * @throws ConfigurationException If an error occurs while reading the configuration
867     * @throws IOException if an I/O error occurs.
868     */
869    @Override
870    public void read(final Reader in) throws ConfigurationException, IOException {
871        final BufferedReader bufferedReader = new BufferedReader(in);
872        final Map<String, ImmutableNode.Builder> sectionBuilders = new LinkedHashMap<>();
873        final ImmutableNode.Builder rootBuilder = new ImmutableNode.Builder();
874
875        createNodeBuilders(bufferedReader, rootBuilder, sectionBuilders);
876        final ImmutableNode rootNode = createNewRootNode(rootBuilder, sectionBuilders);
877        addNodes(null, rootNode.getChildren());
878    }
879
880    /**
881     * Allows setting the leading comment separator which is used in reading an INI file
882     *
883     * @param separator String of the new separator for INI reading
884     * @since 2.5
885     */
886    public void setCommentLeadingCharsUsedInInput(final String separator) {
887        beginRead(false);
888        try {
889            this.commentCharsUsedInInput = separator;
890        } finally {
891            endRead();
892        }
893    }
894
895    /**
896     * Allows setting the key and value separator which is used in reading an INI file
897     *
898     * @param separator String of the new separator for INI reading
899     * @since 2.5
900     */
901    public void setSeparatorUsedInInput(final String separator) {
902        beginRead(false);
903        try {
904            this.separatorUsedInInput = separator;
905        } finally {
906            endRead();
907        }
908    }
909
910    /**
911     * Allows setting the key and value separator which is used for the creation of the resulting INI output
912     *
913     * @param separator String of the new separator for INI output
914     * @since 2.2
915     */
916    public void setSeparatorUsedInOutput(final String separator) {
917        syncWrite(() -> this.separatorUsedInOutput = separator, false);
918    }
919
920    /**
921     * Save the configuration to the specified writer.
922     *
923     * @param writer   The writer to save the configuration to.
924     * @throws ConfigurationException If an error occurs while writing the configuration
925     * @throws IOException if an I/O error occurs.
926     */
927    @Override
928    public void write(final Writer writer) throws ConfigurationException, IOException {
929        syncRead(() -> {
930            final PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter(writer);
931            boolean first = true;
932            final String separator = getSeparatorUsedInOutput();
933            for (final ImmutableNode node : getModel().getNodeHandler().getRootNode().getChildren()) {
934                if (isSectionNode(node)) {
935                    if (!first) {
936                        out.println();
937                    }
938                    out.print("[");
939                    out.print(node.getNodeName());
940                    out.print("]");
941                    out.println();
942
943                    node.forEach(child -> writeProperty(out, child.getNodeName(), child.getValue(), separator));
944                } else {
945                    writeProperty(out, node.getNodeName(), node.getValue(), separator);
946                }
947                first = false;
948            }
949            out.println();
950            out.flush();
951
952        }, false);
953    }
954
955    /**
956     * Writes data about a property into the given stream.
957     *
958     * @param out the output stream
959     * @param key the key
960     * @param value the value
961     */
962    private void writeProperty(final PrintWriter out, final String key, final Object value, final String separator) {
963        out.print(key);
964        out.print(separator);
965        out.print(escapeValue(value.toString()));
966        out.println();
967    }
968}