easy-to-edit configuration file for a matlab function

Question

Like ini file, I basically want to have an easy-to-edit configuration file that can be used to read and distribute the info into matlab objects. I know people would recommend xml but the format is not easy for user to edit. Can anyone have any other way?

Answer 1

I use YAML files all the time for config files with MATLAB applications. I've found them to be easily human-readable and editable, version-controllable, and very straightforward to use.

They have the advantage (over a MATLAB script) of also being widely readable by other languages (Perl, Python, Ruby, Java etc) if the config files also need to be used by other parts of a wider application.

There is a YAML file reader for MATLAB (a wrapper around the free Apache-licensed SnakeYaml Java library) that is publicly available. I've also written my own which I'd be happy to share (it's based on the package I linked to, with slightly less functionality, but quite a bit easier to understand the code and a bit more robust).

Answer 2

Why not use ini files - for simple to edit and read, they can't be beat? They've got problems getting complex, but as long as you're aware of it.

file exchange is your friend: http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/24992-ini-config

You could also use Java Properties files. (I couldn't find anything in file exchange. You'd have to write the interface yourself.)