Implementing a Default Config

To use a default configuration when the config file is missing or invalid, we can add a method to our Config class to set default values and modify the Load() method to use these defaults if the file can't be loaded.

Setting Default Values

First, let's add a SetDefaults() method to our Config class:

1#include <SDL.h>
2#include <iostream>
3#include <string>
4#include <vector>
5
6class Config {
7 public:
8  std::string WindowTitle;
9  int WindowWidth;
10  int WindowHeight;
11  std::vector<int> Levels;
12
13  void SetDefaults() {
14    WindowTitle = "Default Window Title";
15    WindowWidth = 800;
16    WindowHeight = 600;
17    Levels = {1, 2, 3};
18  }
19
Other Config Members|Show
122};
123
124int main() {
125  Config MyConfig;
126  MyConfig.Load("missing.txt");
127  std::cout << MyConfig.WindowTitle << "\n";
128  std::cout << MyConfig.WindowWidth << "\n";
129  std::cout << MyConfig.WindowHeight << "\n";
130}

1Failed to open config file: Couldn't open missing.txt
2Default Window Title
3800
4600

Modifying Load()

Now, we modify the Load() method to call SetDefaults() if ReadFile() returns an empty string (indicating the file was missing or couldn't be read):

1void Load(const std::string& Path) {
2  std::string Content{ReadFile(Path)};
3  if (Content.empty()) {
4    // Use default values if the file
5    // is not found or invalid
6    SetDefaults();
7    return;
8  }
9  ParseConfig(Content);
10}

Explanation

1. SetDefaults(): This method assigns sensible default values to each member of the Config class. You can customize these defaults to whatever makes sense for your game.
2. Load() Modification: In the Load() method, we check if Content is empty after calling ReadFile(). If it is, we call SetDefaults() to initialize the Config object with the default values.

Usage

Now, if you try to load a config file that doesn't exist or is invalid, your Config object will be populated with the default values. This ensures your game can still start with reasonable settings even if the configuration file is missing.