bicop

Bicop is a powerful Python library aimed at processing ISC bind-style configuration files. These files usually contain nested structures that can be challenging to read and modify, but Bicop can help you overcome this obstacle with ease.

The nested structures usually look like this:

```
datasource1 {
server "server1.your.domain";
username "client";
password "secret";
extra {
isolation "full";
};
};

tables {
"users";
"groups";
};
```

With Bicop, parsing these structures is incredibly easy. All you need to do is use the 'parse' method, like so:

```
from bicop import parse

parse("/etc/bind/named.conf")
```

This method will return a Python dictionary containing all the data read from the file. Entries in the dictionary can be other dictionaries or lists, effectively allowing you to store and access any type of configuration data.

A common requirement when working with configuration files is to support default values or handle configuration at multiple levels with priorities. Bicop can help you achieve this with its 'merge' utility method. With this method, you can merge two or more dictionaries, like so:

```
from bicop import merge

configuration = parse("/etc/application.conf")
userconfig = parse("/home/user/.application")
merge(configuration, userconfig, overwrite=True)
```

This method allows you to handle configurations of varying levels with ease, making it an essential tool for developers and system administrators alike.

Configuration files in this format can have deeply nested structures, which can make accessing them using standard Python dictionaries cumbersome. To make this easier, Bicop provides a NestedDict wrapper. Here's an example:

```
from bicop import NestedDict

configuration = NestedDict(parse("/etc/application.conf"))
print "Your signature is: %s" % configuration["profiles/user/signature"]
```

This wrapper makes accessing deeply nested structures much more comfortable and intuitive, making your life as a developer or system administrator a lot easier.

In conclusion, Bicop is a powerful and flexible tool that can help you handle complex configuration files with ease. Whether you're a developer or a system administrator, Bicop can help you manage and modify configuration files effortlessly, allowing you to focus on more critical aspects of your work.