hipack-python

===============
hipack-python
===============

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``hipack`` is a Python module to work with the `HiPack `_
serialization format. The API is intentionally similar to that of the standard
``json`` and ``pickle`` modules.

Features:

* Both reading, and writing `HiPack version 1
`__ is supported. The
following extensions are implemented as well:

- `HEP-1: Value Annotations
`__.

(Note that extensions defined in HEPs are subject to change while they are
being discussed as proposals.)

* Small, self-contained, pure Python implementation.

* Compatible with both Python 2.6 (or newer), and 3.2 (or newer).


Usage
=====

Given the following input file:

.. code-block::

# Configuration file for SuperFooBar v3000
interface {
language: "en_US"
panes {
top: ["menu", "toolbar"] # Optional commas in lists
# The colon separating keys and values is optional
bottom
["statusbar"]
}
☺ : True # Enables emoji
Unicode→Suþþorteð? : "Indeed, Jürgen!"
}

# Configure plug-ins
plugin: {
preview # Whitespace is mostly ignored
{
enabled: true
timeout: 500 # Update every 500ms
}
}

Note that the ``:`` separator in between keys and values is optional, and
can be omitted. Also, notice how white space —including new lines— are
completely meaningless and the structure is determined using only braces
and brackets. Last but not least, a valid key is any Unicode character
sequence which *does not* include white space or a colon.

The following code can be used to read it into a Python dictionary:

.. code-block:: python

import hipack
with open("superfoobar3000.conf", "rb") as f:
config = hipack.load(f)

Conversions work as expected:

* Sections are converted into dictionaries.
* Keys are converted conveted to strings.
* Text in double quotes are converted to strings.
* Sections enclosed into ``{ }`` are converted to dictionaries.
* Arrays enclosed into ``[ ]`` are converted to lists.
* Numbers are converted either to ``int`` or ``float``, whichever is more
appropriate.
* Boolean values are converted to ``bool``.

The following can be used to convert a Python dictionary into its textual
representation:

.. code-block:: python

users = {
"peter": {
"uid": 1000,
"name": "Peter Jøglund",
"groups": ["wheel", "peter"],
},
"root": {
"uid": 0,
"groups": ["root"],
}
}

import hipack
text = hipack.dumps(users)

When generating a textual representation, the keys of each dictionary will
be sorted, to guarantee that the generated output is stable. The dictionary
from the previous snippet would be written in text form as follows:

.. code-block::

peter: {
name: "Peter Jøglund"
groups: ["wheel" "peter"]
uid: 1000
}
root: {
groups: ["root"]
uid: 0
}


Installation
============

The stable releases are uploaded to `PyPI `_, so you
can install them and upgrade using ``pip``::

pip install hipack

Alternatively, you can install development versions —at your own risk—
directly from the Git repository::

pip install -e git://github.com/aperezdc/hipack-python


Development
===========

If you want to contribute, please use the usual GitHub workflow:

1. Clone the repository.
2. Hack on your clone.
3. Send a pull request for review.

If you do not have programming skills, you can still contribute by `reporting
issues `_ that you may
encounter.