What INI config file module allows lists of duplicate same-named options?

[Thomas L. Shinnick]

At 02:52 PM 1/9/2011, Stefan Sonnenberg-Carstens wrote:
>Am 09.01.2011 21:43, schrieb Thomas L. Shinnick:
>>Having (possibly) surveyed all the available pypi config file 
>>modules, I still haven't seen one that allows an obvious and 
>>familiar extension of the strict Windows INI format.
>>
>>Each INI-style config module seems to enforce the strict rule: each 
>>option in a section must have a different name - no 
>>duplicates.  Thus it is impossible to have a simple list, e.g.
>>
>>     [pathset  uk]
>>     pathpair: /bath/*                         to    /london/*
>>     pathpair: /bath/upload/**                 to    /london/*
>>     pathpair: /firth/*                        to    /forth/*
>>     pathpair: /firth/upload/**                to    /forth/*
>>
>>Rather you must give each line a separate name, e.g.
>>
>>     [pathset  uk]
>>     pathpair001: /bath/*                      to    /london/*
>>     pathpair002: /bath/upload/**              to    /london/*
>>     pathpair003: /firth/*                     to    /forth/*
>>     pathpair004: /firth/upload/**             to    /forth/*
>>           |       |      |       |      |       |
>>     pathpair068: /glasgow/*                   to    /edinburgh/*
>>     pathpair069: /glasgow/upload/**           to    /edinburgh/*
>>           |       |      |       |      |       |
>>
>>This is not ideal for a number of reasons.  Do you know of a 
>>library module that has the (optional?) ability to handle 
>>duplicate-named options, returning them as a list?
>>
>>If instead someone can point me to a reasonable Apache-style config 
>>module, that might also serve.  I've looked for such and the few 
>>found seemed to be either bare bones or clumsily stripped out of 
>>something much larger.
>>
>>
>>--
>>I'm a pessimist about probabilities; I'm an optimist about possibilities.
>>     Lewis Mumford  (1895-1990)
>I've let ini style files alone some time ago.
>Whenever possible I use JSON based files.
>
>Your example could then look like this:
>
>{
>"pathpairs":{
>     "uk":[
>         ["/bath/*","/london/*"],
>     ["/bath/upload/**","/london/*"],
>     ["/firth/*,"/forth/*"],
>     ["/firth/upload/**","/forth/*"]
>   ]
>}
>}
>
>Since Python 2.7, json is in the standard library.

A reasonable response, if your only audience is computer folk.  And 
used internally already.  But in trying to be simple as can be for 
those installing and maintaining a package, INI-style configurations 
are a familiar format.  As Apache-style configs would be.  So, JSON 
is concise and flexible and easily handled by programs.  But I was 
hoping for something easier for the poor soul coming back to a config 
after 2 months and wondering how to add something ...  
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