At what point does a config file become a programming language?

Question

I have been mulling over config files and their relationship to code for a while now and depending on the day and direction of the wind my opinions seem to change. More and mor

Answer 1

It depends on what you agree with other developers on the team. Are you using config files just as config files or you are creating a Model Driven application.

Symptoms of config file becoming a programming language:

• name=value pairs start to depend on each other
• you feel a need to have flow control (ex. if (this) than that)
• documentation for config file becomes essential in order to do further development (instead of just using the application)
• before value from config is read it requires to have some context (i.e. values depend on something external to config file itself)