Versioning and Documenting Configuration Changes: A Casual Guide for Python Developers
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you’re working on a project with multiple team members, but no one can seem to remember which version of the configuration file was last updated? Or maybe you’ve been tasked with maintaining an existing codebase and need to figure out what changes were made when.
Well, my friend, you’re in luck! In this article, we’ll be discussing how to properly version and document your configuration changes using Python. And let me tell ya, it’s not as complicated as some people make it seem.
To set the stage: why bother with versioning and documentation? Well, for starters, it helps keep everyone on the same page when working collaboratively. It also makes it easier to troubleshoot issues if something goes wrong, since you can easily see what changes were made and when they were made. And let’s be real here: no one wants to spend hours trying to figure out why a configuration change is causing problems when there’s an easy solution available.
So how do we go about versioning and documenting our configuration changes? Well, first things first: create a new file for your configurations. This could be something like `config.ini` or `settings.py`. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s clear what the purpose of this file is.
Next, versioning. There are several ways to do this, but we’re going to keep things simple and use a semantic versioning system (semver). This means that each version will have three parts: major, minor, and patch. For example, the current version of Python is 3.9.0.
To implement semver in our configuration file, let’s add a `__version__` variable at the top of the file. Here’s an example:
# config.ini
# This is a configuration file for our project.
# We will use a semantic versioning system (semver).
# This means that each version will have three parts: major, minor, and patch.
# For example, the current version of Python is 3.9.0.
# To implement semver in our configuration file, let's add a `__version__` variable at the top of the file.
# Here's an example:
# This variable will hold the current version of our project.
__version__ = "1.2.3" # The version is set to 1.2.3, following the semver format of major.minor.patch.
Now that we have our versioning system in place, documentation. We want to make sure that anyone who reads this file knows what changes were made and when they were made. To do this, we can add a `CHANGES` section at the bottom of the file:
# config.ini
[general]
...
# Define a variable for the version number
__version__ = "1.2.3"
# Create a section for changes and add a multiline string with the changes and their dates
CHANGES = """
- 1.2.0 (2021-05-01): Initial release
- 1.2.1 (2021-06-01): Added support for new feature X
- 1.2.2 (2021-07-01): Fixed bug with Y and added logging functionality"""
# The following script is used to document changes made to the code and when they were made. This is important for version control and keeping track of updates.
# The config.ini file is used to store configuration settings for the program.
# The [general] section is used to specify general settings for the program.
# The __version__ variable is used to store the version number of the program.
# The CHANGES section is used to document the changes made to the program and their corresponding dates. This allows for easy tracking of updates and bug fixes.
# The multiline string contains a list of changes, each with their own date and description.
# The format for each change is: version number (date): description of change.
# The script is now properly annotated and ready for use.
Now, whenever a change is made to the configuration file, we can add it to this section using the following format: `[version] [date]: Description of changes`. This makes it easy for anyone who reads this file to see what was changed and when.
And that’s it! By implementing versioning and documentation in our configuration files, we make it easier for everyone on the team to collaborate and troubleshoot issues. Plus, it just looks more professional overall. Give it a try and let us know how it goes!