org.apache.commons.configuration.AbstractConfiguration.java Source code

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/*
 * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
 * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
 * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
 * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
 * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
 * the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

package org.apache.commons.configuration;

import java.lang.reflect.Array;
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import java.math.BigInteger;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
import java.util.Properties;

import org.apache.commons.collections.Predicate;
import org.apache.commons.collections.iterators.FilterIterator;
import org.apache.commons.configuration.event.ConfigurationErrorEvent;
import org.apache.commons.configuration.event.ConfigurationErrorListener;
import org.apache.commons.configuration.event.EventSource;
import org.apache.commons.configuration.interpol.ConfigurationInterpolator;
import org.apache.commons.lang.BooleanUtils;
import org.apache.commons.lang.text.StrLookup;
import org.apache.commons.lang.text.StrSubstitutor;
import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
import org.apache.commons.logging.impl.NoOpLog;

/**
 * <p>Abstract configuration class. Provides basic functionality but does not
 * store any data.</p>
 * <p>If you want to write your own Configuration class then you should
 * implement only abstract methods from this class. A lot of functionality
 * needed by typical implementations of the <code>Configuration</code>
 * interface is already provided by this base class. Following is a list of
 * features implemented here:
 * <ul><li>Data conversion support. The various data types required by the
 * <code>Configuration</code> interface are already handled by this base class.
 * A concrete sub class only needs to provide a generic <code>getProperty()</code>
 * method.</li>
 * <li>Support for variable interpolation. Property values containing special
 * variable tokens (like <code>${var}</code>) will be replaced by their
 * corresponding values.</li>
 * <li>Support for string lists. The values of properties to be added to this
 * configuration are checked whether they contain a list delimiter character. If
 * this is the case and if list splitting is enabled, the string is split and
 * multiple values are added for this property. (With the
 * <code>setListDelimiter()</code> method the delimiter character can be
 * specified; per default a comma is used. The
 * <code>setDelimiterParsingDisabled()</code> method can be used to disable
 * list splitting completely.)</li>
 * <li>Allows to specify how missing properties are treated. Per default the
 * get methods returning an object will return <b>null</b> if the searched
 * property key is not found (and no default value is provided). With the
 * <code>setThrowExceptionOnMissing()</code> method this behavior can be
 * changed to throw an exception when a requested property cannot be found.</li>
 * <li>Basic event support. Whenever this configuration is modified registered
 * event listeners are notified. Refer to the various <code>EVENT_XXX</code>
 * constants to get an impression about which event types are supported.</li>
 * </ul></p>
 *
 * @author <a href="mailto:ksh@scand.com">Konstantin Shaposhnikov </a>
 * @author Oliver Heger
 * @author <a href="mailto:hps@intermeta.de">Henning P. Schmiedehausen </a>
 * @version $Id: AbstractConfiguration.java 730776 2009-01-02 16:37:12Z oheger $
 */
public abstract class AbstractConfiguration extends EventSource implements Configuration {
    /**
     * Constant for the add property event type.
     * @since 1.3
     */
    public static final int EVENT_ADD_PROPERTY = 1;

    /**
     * Constant for the clear property event type.
     * @since 1.3
     */
    public static final int EVENT_CLEAR_PROPERTY = 2;

    /**
     * Constant for the set property event type.
     * @since 1.3
     */
    public static final int EVENT_SET_PROPERTY = 3;

    /**
     * Constant for the clear configuration event type.
     * @since 1.3
     */
    public static final int EVENT_CLEAR = 4;

    /**
     * Constant for the get property event type. This event type is used for
     * error events.
     * @since 1.4
     */
    public static final int EVENT_READ_PROPERTY = 5;

    /** start token */
    protected static final String START_TOKEN = "${";

    /** end token */
    protected static final String END_TOKEN = "}";

    /**
     * Constant for the disabled list delimiter. This character is passed to the
     * list parsing methods if delimiter parsing is disabled. So this character
     * should not occur in string property values.
     */
    private static final char DISABLED_DELIMITER = '\0';

    /** The default value for listDelimiter */
    private static char defaultListDelimiter = ',';

    /** Delimiter used to convert single values to lists */
    private char listDelimiter = defaultListDelimiter;

    /**
     * When set to true the given configuration delimiter will not be used
     * while parsing for this configuration.
     */
    private boolean delimiterParsingDisabled;

    /**
     * Whether the configuration should throw NoSuchElementExceptions or simply
     * return null when a property does not exist. Defaults to return null.
     */
    private boolean throwExceptionOnMissing;

    /** Stores a reference to the object that handles variable interpolation.*/
    private StrSubstitutor substitutor;

    /** Stores the logger.*/
    private Log log;

    /**
     * Creates a new instance of <code>AbstractConfiguration</code>.
     */
    public AbstractConfiguration() {
        setLogger(null);
    }

    /**
     * For configurations extending AbstractConfiguration, allow them to change
     * the listDelimiter from the default comma (","). This value will be used
     * only when creating new configurations. Those already created will not be
     * affected by this change
     *
     * @param delimiter The new listDelimiter
     */
    public static void setDefaultListDelimiter(char delimiter) {
        AbstractConfiguration.defaultListDelimiter = delimiter;
    }

    /**
     * Sets the default list delimiter.
     *
     * @param delimiter the delimiter character
     * @deprecated Use AbstractConfiguration.setDefaultListDelimiter(char)
     * instead
     */
    public static void setDelimiter(char delimiter) {
        setDefaultListDelimiter(delimiter);
    }

    /**
     * Retrieve the current delimiter. By default this is a comma (",").
     *
     * @return The delimiter in use
     */
    public static char getDefaultListDelimiter() {
        return AbstractConfiguration.defaultListDelimiter;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the default list delimiter.
     *
     * @return the default list delimiter
     * @deprecated Use AbstractConfiguration.getDefaultListDelimiter() instead
     */
    public static char getDelimiter() {
        return getDefaultListDelimiter();
    }

    /**
     * Change the list delimiter for this configuration.
     *
     * Note: this change will only be effective for new parsings. If you
     * want it to take effect for all loaded properties use the no arg constructor
     * and call this method before setting the source.
     *
     * @param listDelimiter The new listDelimiter
     */
    public void setListDelimiter(char listDelimiter) {
        this.listDelimiter = listDelimiter;
    }

    /**
     * Retrieve the delimiter for this configuration. The default
     * is the value of defaultListDelimiter.
     *
     * @return The listDelimiter in use
     */
    public char getListDelimiter() {
        return listDelimiter;
    }

    /**
     * Determine if this configuration is using delimiters when parsing
     * property values to convert them to lists of values. Defaults to false
     * @return true if delimiters are not being used
     */
    public boolean isDelimiterParsingDisabled() {
        return delimiterParsingDisabled;
    }

    /**
     * Set whether this configuration should use delimiters when parsing
     * property values to convert them to lists of values. By default delimiter
     * parsing is enabled
     *
     * Note: this change will only be effective for new parsings. If you
     * want it to take effect for all loaded properties use the no arg constructor
     * and call this method before setting source.
     * @param delimiterParsingDisabled a flag whether delimiter parsing should
     * be disabled
     */
    public void setDelimiterParsingDisabled(boolean delimiterParsingDisabled) {
        this.delimiterParsingDisabled = delimiterParsingDisabled;
    }

    /**
     * Allows to set the <code>throwExceptionOnMissing</code> flag. This
     * flag controls the behavior of property getter methods that return
     * objects if the requested property is missing. If the flag is set to
     * <b>false</b> (which is the default value), these methods will return
     * <b>null</b>. If set to <b>true</b>, they will throw a
     * <code>NoSuchElementException</code> exception. Note that getter methods
     * for primitive data types are not affected by this flag.
     *
     * @param throwExceptionOnMissing The new value for the property
     */
    public void setThrowExceptionOnMissing(boolean throwExceptionOnMissing) {
        this.throwExceptionOnMissing = throwExceptionOnMissing;
    }

    /**
     * Returns true if missing values throw Exceptions.
     *
     * @return true if missing values throw Exceptions
     */
    public boolean isThrowExceptionOnMissing() {
        return throwExceptionOnMissing;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the object that is responsible for variable interpolation.
     *
     * @return the object responsible for variable interpolation
     * @since 1.4
     */
    public synchronized StrSubstitutor getSubstitutor() {
        if (substitutor == null) {
            substitutor = new StrSubstitutor(createInterpolator());
        }
        return substitutor;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the <code>ConfigurationInterpolator</code> object that manages
     * the lookup objects for resolving variables. <em>Note:</em> If this
     * object is manipulated (e.g. new lookup objects added), synchronisation
     * has to be manually ensured. Because
     * <code>ConfigurationInterpolator</code> is not thread-safe concurrent
     * access to properties of this configuration instance (which causes the
     * interpolator to be invoked) may cause race conditions.
     *
     * @return the <code>ConfigurationInterpolator</code> associated with this
     * configuration
     * @since 1.4
     */
    public ConfigurationInterpolator getInterpolator() {
        return (ConfigurationInterpolator) getSubstitutor().getVariableResolver();
    }

    /**
     * Creates the interpolator object that is responsible for variable
     * interpolation. This method is invoked on first access of the
     * interpolation features. It creates a new instance of
     * <code>ConfigurationInterpolator</code> and sets the default lookup
     * object to an implementation that queries this configuration.
     *
     * @return the newly created interpolator object
     * @since 1.4
     */
    protected ConfigurationInterpolator createInterpolator() {
        ConfigurationInterpolator interpol = new ConfigurationInterpolator();
        interpol.setDefaultLookup(new StrLookup() {
            public String lookup(String var) {
                Object prop = resolveContainerStore(var);
                return (prop != null) ? prop.toString() : null;
            }
        });
        return interpol;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the logger used by this configuration object.
     *
     * @return the logger
     * @since 1.4
     */
    public Log getLogger() {
        return log;
    }

    /**
     * Allows to set the logger to be used by this configuration object. This
     * method makes it possible for clients to exactly control logging behavior.
     * Per default a logger is set that will ignore all log messages. Derived
     * classes that want to enable logging should call this method during their
     * initialization with the logger to be used.
     *
     * @param log the new logger
     * @since 1.4
     */
    public void setLogger(Log log) {
        this.log = (log != null) ? log : new NoOpLog();
    }

    /**
     * Adds a special
     * <code>{@link org.apache.commons.configuration.event.ConfigurationErrorListener}</code>
     * object to this configuration that will log all internal errors. This
     * method is intended to be used by certain derived classes, for which it is
     * known that they can fail on property access (e.g.
     * <code>DatabaseConfiguration</code>).
     *
     * @since 1.4
     */
    public void addErrorLogListener() {
        addErrorListener(new ConfigurationErrorListener() {
            public void configurationError(ConfigurationErrorEvent event) {
                getLogger().warn("Internal error", event.getCause());
            }
        });
    }

    public void addProperty(String key, Object value) {
        fireEvent(EVENT_ADD_PROPERTY, key, value, true);
        addPropertyValues(key, value, isDelimiterParsingDisabled() ? DISABLED_DELIMITER : getListDelimiter());
        fireEvent(EVENT_ADD_PROPERTY, key, value, false);
    }

    /**
     * Adds a key/value pair to the Configuration. Override this method to
     * provide write access to underlying Configuration store.
     *
     * @param key key to use for mapping
     * @param value object to store
     */
    protected abstract void addPropertyDirect(String key, Object value);

    /**
     * Adds the specified value for the given property. This method supports
     * single values and containers (e.g. collections or arrays) as well. In the
     * latter case, <code>addPropertyDirect()</code> will be called for each
     * element.
     *
     * @param key the property key
     * @param value the value object
     * @param delimiter the list delimiter character
     */
    private void addPropertyValues(String key, Object value, char delimiter) {
        Iterator it = PropertyConverter.toIterator(value, delimiter);
        while (it.hasNext()) {
            addPropertyDirect(key, it.next());
        }
    }

    /**
     * interpolate key names to handle ${key} stuff
     *
     * @param base string to interpolate
     *
     * @return returns the key name with the ${key} substituted
     */
    protected String interpolate(String base) {
        Object result = interpolate((Object) base);
        return (result == null) ? null : result.toString();
    }

    /**
     * Returns the interpolated value. Non String values are returned without change.
     *
     * @param value the value to interpolate
     *
     * @return returns the value with variables substituted
     */
    protected Object interpolate(Object value) {
        if (interpolator == null)
            return PropertyConverter.interpolate(value, this);
        else {
            try {
                return interpolator.interpolate(value);
            } catch (Exception e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
                return PropertyConverter.interpolate(value, this);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * Recursive handler for multple levels of interpolation.
     *
     * When called the first time, priorVariables should be null.
     *
     * @param base string with the ${key} variables
     * @param priorVariables serves two purposes: to allow checking for loops,
     * and creating a meaningful exception message should a loop occur. It's
     * 0'th element will be set to the value of base from the first call. All
     * subsequent interpolated variables are added afterward.
     *
     * @return the string with the interpolation taken care of
     * @deprecated Interpolation is now handled by
     * <code>{@link PropertyConverter}</code>; this method will no longer be
     * called
     */
    protected String interpolateHelper(String base, List priorVariables) {
        return base; // just a dummy implementation
    }

    public Configuration subset(String prefix) {
        return new SubsetConfiguration(this, prefix, ".");
    }

    public void setProperty(String key, Object value) {
        fireEvent(EVENT_SET_PROPERTY, key, value, true);
        setDetailEvents(false);
        try {
            clearProperty(key);
            addProperty(key, value);
        } finally {
            setDetailEvents(true);
        }
        fireEvent(EVENT_SET_PROPERTY, key, value, false);
    }

    /**
     * Removes the specified property from this configuration. This
     * implementation performs some preparations and then delegates to
     * <code>clearPropertyDirect()</code>, which will do the real work.
     *
     * @param key the key to be removed
     */
    public void clearProperty(String key) {
        fireEvent(EVENT_CLEAR_PROPERTY, key, null, true);
        clearPropertyDirect(key);
        fireEvent(EVENT_CLEAR_PROPERTY, key, null, false);
    }

    /**
     * Removes the specified property from this configuration. This method is
     * called by <code>clearProperty()</code> after it has done some
     * preparations. It should be overriden in sub classes. This base
     * implementation is just left empty.
     *
     * @param key the key to be removed
     */
    protected void clearPropertyDirect(String key) {
        // override in sub classes
    }

    public void clear() {
        fireEvent(EVENT_CLEAR, null, null, true);
        setDetailEvents(false);
        boolean useIterator = true;
        try {
            Iterator it = getKeys();
            while (it.hasNext()) {
                String key = (String) it.next();
                if (useIterator) {
                    try {
                        it.remove();
                    } catch (UnsupportedOperationException usoex) {
                        useIterator = false;
                    }
                }

                if (useIterator && containsKey(key)) {
                    useIterator = false;
                }

                if (!useIterator) {
                    // workaround for Iterators that do not remove the property
                    // on calling remove() or do not support remove() at all
                    clearProperty(key);
                }
            }
        } finally {
            setDetailEvents(true);
        }
        fireEvent(EVENT_CLEAR, null, null, false);
    }

    public Iterator getKeys(final String prefix) {
        return new FilterIterator(getKeys(), new Predicate() {
            public boolean evaluate(Object obj) {
                String key = (String) obj;
                return key.startsWith(prefix + ".") || key.equals(prefix);
            }
        });
    }

    public Properties getProperties(String key) {
        return getProperties(key, null);
    }

    /**
     * Get a list of properties associated with the given configuration key.
     *
     * @param key The configuration key.
     * @param defaults Any default values for the returned
     * <code>Properties</code> object. Ignored if <code>null</code>.
     *
     * @return The associated properties if key is found.
     *
     * @throws ConversionException is thrown if the key maps to an object that
     * is not a String/List of Strings.
     *
     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if one of the tokens is malformed (does
     * not contain an equals sign).
     */
    public Properties getProperties(String key, Properties defaults) {
        /*
         * Grab an array of the tokens for this key.
         */
        String[] tokens = getStringArray(key);

        /*
         * Each token is of the form 'key=value'.
         */
        Properties props = defaults == null ? new Properties() : new Properties(defaults);
        for (int i = 0; i < tokens.length; i++) {
            String token = tokens[i];
            int equalSign = token.indexOf('=');
            if (equalSign > 0) {
                String pkey = token.substring(0, equalSign).trim();
                String pvalue = token.substring(equalSign + 1).trim();
                props.put(pkey, pvalue);
            } else if (tokens.length == 1 && "".equals(token)) {
                // Semantically equivalent to an empty Properties
                // object.
                break;
            } else {
                throw new IllegalArgumentException('\'' + token + "' does not contain an equals sign");
            }
        }
        return props;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see PropertyConverter#toBoolean(Object)
     */
    public boolean getBoolean(String key) {
        Boolean b = getBoolean(key, null);
        if (b != null) {
            return b.booleanValue();
        } else {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        }
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see PropertyConverter#toBoolean(Object)
     */
    public boolean getBoolean(String key, boolean defaultValue) {
        return getBoolean(key, BooleanUtils.toBooleanObject(defaultValue)).booleanValue();
    }

    /**
     * Obtains the value of the specified key and tries to convert it into a
     * <code>Boolean</code> object. If the property has no value, the passed
     * in default value will be used.
     *
     * @param key the key of the property
     * @param defaultValue the default value
     * @return the value of this key converted to a <code>Boolean</code>
     * @throws ConversionException if the value cannot be converted to a
     * <code>Boolean</code>
     * @see PropertyConverter#toBoolean(Object)
     */
    public Boolean getBoolean(String key, Boolean defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toBoolean(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a Boolean object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    public byte getByte(String key) {
        Byte b = getByte(key, null);
        if (b != null) {
            return b.byteValue();
        } else {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + " doesn't map to an existing object");
        }
    }

    public byte getByte(String key, byte defaultValue) {
        return getByte(key, new Byte(defaultValue)).byteValue();
    }

    public Byte getByte(String key, Byte defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toByte(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a Byte object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    public double getDouble(String key) {
        Double d = getDouble(key, null);
        if (d != null) {
            return d.doubleValue();
        } else {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        }
    }

    public double getDouble(String key, double defaultValue) {
        return getDouble(key, new Double(defaultValue)).doubleValue();
    }

    public Double getDouble(String key, Double defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toDouble(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a Double object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    public float getFloat(String key) {
        Float f = getFloat(key, null);
        if (f != null) {
            return f.floatValue();
        } else {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        }
    }

    public float getFloat(String key, float defaultValue) {
        return getFloat(key, new Float(defaultValue)).floatValue();
    }

    public Float getFloat(String key, Float defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toFloat(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a Float object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    public int getInt(String key) {
        Integer i = getInteger(key, null);
        if (i != null) {
            return i.intValue();
        } else {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        }
    }

    public int getInt(String key, int defaultValue) {
        Integer i = getInteger(key, null);

        if (i == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        }

        return i.intValue();
    }

    public Integer getInteger(String key, Integer defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toInteger(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an Integer object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    public long getLong(String key) {
        Long l = getLong(key, null);
        if (l != null) {
            return l.longValue();
        } else {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        }
    }

    public long getLong(String key, long defaultValue) {
        return getLong(key, new Long(defaultValue)).longValue();
    }

    public Long getLong(String key, Long defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toLong(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a Long object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    public short getShort(String key) {
        Short s = getShort(key, null);
        if (s != null) {
            return s.shortValue();
        } else {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        }
    }

    public short getShort(String key, short defaultValue) {
        return getShort(key, new Short(defaultValue)).shortValue();
    }

    public Short getShort(String key, Short defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toShort(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a Short object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see #setThrowExceptionOnMissing(boolean)
     */
    public BigDecimal getBigDecimal(String key) {
        BigDecimal number = getBigDecimal(key, null);
        if (number != null) {
            return number;
        } else if (isThrowExceptionOnMissing()) {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    public BigDecimal getBigDecimal(String key, BigDecimal defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toBigDecimal(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a BigDecimal object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see #setThrowExceptionOnMissing(boolean)
     */
    public BigInteger getBigInteger(String key) {
        BigInteger number = getBigInteger(key, null);
        if (number != null) {
            return number;
        } else if (isThrowExceptionOnMissing()) {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    public BigInteger getBigInteger(String key, BigInteger defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value == null) {
            return defaultValue;
        } else {
            try {
                return PropertyConverter.toBigInteger(interpolate(value));
            } catch (ConversionException e) {
                throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a BigInteger object", e);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see #setThrowExceptionOnMissing(boolean)
     */
    public String getString(String key) {
        String s = getString(key, null);
        if (s != null) {
            return s;
        } else if (isThrowExceptionOnMissing()) {
            throw new NoSuchElementException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to an existing object");
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    public String getString(String key, String defaultValue) {
        Object value = resolveContainerStore(key);

        if (value instanceof String) {
            return interpolate((String) value);
        } else if (value == null) {
            return interpolate(defaultValue);
        } else {
            throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a String object");
        }
    }

    /**
     * Get an array of strings associated with the given configuration key.
     * If the key doesn't map to an existing object, an empty array is returned.
     * If a property is added to a configuration, it is checked whether it
     * contains multiple values. This is obvious if the added object is a list
     * or an array. For strings it is checked whether the string contains the
     * list delimiter character that can be specified using the
     * <code>setListDelimiter()</code> method. If this is the case, the string
     * is splitted at these positions resulting in a property with multiple
     * values.
     *
     * @param key The configuration key.
     * @return The associated string array if key is found.
     *
     * @throws ConversionException is thrown if the key maps to an
     *         object that is not a String/List of Strings.
     * @see #setListDelimiter(char)
     * @see #setDelimiterParsingDisabled(boolean)
     */
    public String[] getStringArray(String key) {
        Object value = getProperty(key);

        String[] array;

        if (value instanceof String) {
            array = new String[1];

            array[0] = interpolate((String) value);
        } else if (value instanceof List) {
            List list = (List) value;
            array = new String[list.size()];

            for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
                array[i] = interpolate((String) list.get(i));
            }
        } else if (value == null) {
            array = new String[0];
        } else {
            throw new ConversionException('\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a String/List object");
        }
        return array;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see #getStringArray(String)
     */
    public List getList(String key) {
        return getList(key, new ArrayList());
    }

    public List getList(String key, List defaultValue) {
        Object value = getProperty(key);
        List list;

        if (value instanceof String) {
            list = new ArrayList(1);
            list.add(interpolate((String) value));
        } else if (value instanceof List) {
            list = new ArrayList();
            List l = (List) value;

            // add the interpolated elements in the new list
            Iterator it = l.iterator();
            while (it.hasNext()) {
                list.add(interpolate(it.next()));
            }
        } else if (value == null) {
            list = defaultValue;
        } else if (value.getClass().isArray()) {
            return Arrays.asList((Object[]) value);
        } else {
            throw new ConversionException(
                    '\'' + key + "' doesn't map to a List object: " + value + ", a " + value.getClass().getName());
        }
        return list;
    }

    /**
     * Returns an object from the store described by the key. If the value is a
     * Collection object, replace it with the first object in the collection.
     *
     * @param key The property key.
     *
     * @return value Value, transparently resolving a possible collection dependency.
     */
    protected Object resolveContainerStore(String key) {
        Object value = getProperty(key);
        if (value != null) {
            if (value instanceof Collection) {
                Collection collection = (Collection) value;
                value = collection.isEmpty() ? null : collection.iterator().next();
            } else if (value.getClass().isArray() && Array.getLength(value) > 0) {
                value = Array.get(value, 0);
            }
        }
        return value;
    }

    /**
     * Copies the content of the specified configuration into this
     * configuration. If the specified configuration contains a key that is also
     * present in this configuration, the value of this key will be replaced by
     * the new value. <em>Note:</em> This method won't work well when copying
     * hierarchical configurations because it is not able to copy information
     * about the properties' structure (i.e. the parent-child-relationships will
     * get lost). So when dealing with hierarchical configuration objects their
     * <code>{@link HierarchicalConfiguration#clone() clone()}</code> methods
     * should be used.
     *
     * @param c the configuration to copy (can be <b>null</b>, then this
     * operation will have no effect)
     * @since 1.5
     */
    public void copy(Configuration c) {
        if (c != null) {
            for (Iterator it = c.getKeys(); it.hasNext();) {
                String key = (String) it.next();
                Object value = c.getProperty(key);
                fireEvent(EVENT_SET_PROPERTY, key, value, true);
                setDetailEvents(false);
                try {
                    clearProperty(key);
                    addPropertyValues(key, value, DISABLED_DELIMITER);
                } finally {
                    setDetailEvents(true);
                }
                fireEvent(EVENT_SET_PROPERTY, key, value, false);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * Appends the content of the specified configuration to this configuration.
     * The values of all properties contained in the specified configuration
     * will be appended to this configuration. So if a property is already
     * present in this configuration, its new value will be a union of the
     * values in both configurations. <em>Note:</em> This method won't work
     * well when appending hierarchical configurations because it is not able to
     * copy information about the properties' structure (i.e. the
     * parent-child-relationships will get lost). So when dealing with
     * hierarchical configuration objects their
     * <code>{@link HierarchicalConfiguration#clone() clone()}</code> methods
     * should be used.
     *
     * @param c the configuration to be appended (can be <b>null</b>, then this
     * operation will have no effect)
     * @since 1.5
     */
    public void append(Configuration c) {
        if (c != null) {
            for (Iterator it = c.getKeys(); it.hasNext();) {
                String key = (String) it.next();
                Object value = c.getProperty(key);
                fireEvent(EVENT_ADD_PROPERTY, key, value, true);
                addPropertyValues(key, value, DISABLED_DELIMITER);
                fireEvent(EVENT_ADD_PROPERTY, key, value, false);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * Returns a configuration with the same content as this configuration, but
     * with all variables replaced by their actual values. This method tries to
     * clone the configuration and then perform interpolation on all properties.
     * So property values of the form <code>${var}</code> will be resolved as
     * far as possible (if a variable cannot be resolved, it remains unchanged).
     * This operation is useful if the content of a configuration is to be
     * exported or processed by an external component that does not support
     * variable interpolation.
     *
     * @return a configuration with all variables interpolated
     * @throws ConfigurationRuntimeException if this configuration cannot be
     * cloned
     * @since 1.5
     */
    public Configuration interpolatedConfiguration() {
        // first clone this configuration
        AbstractConfiguration c = (AbstractConfiguration) ConfigurationUtils.cloneConfiguration(this);

        // now perform interpolation
        c.setDelimiterParsingDisabled(true);
        for (Iterator it = getKeys(); it.hasNext();) {
            String key = (String) it.next();
            c.setProperty(key, getList(key));
        }

        c.setDelimiterParsingDisabled(isDelimiterParsingDisabled());
        return c;
    }

    private Interpolator interpolator = null;

    public void setInterpolator(Interpolator interpolator) throws SecurityException, NoSuchMethodException {
        this.interpolator = interpolator;
    }
}