Update config file format for the Agglayer

[Freyskeyd]

Rationale for Discussion

original ticket #83

The discussion around the configuration format for agglayer has arisen due to the need for greater consistency and readability in configuration file. Currently, there is a mix of PascalCase and lowercase formats, leading to confusion and maintenance challenges in the future. As we'll for sure add more configuration option to allow a wide range of system configuration but also behaviors configuration, we need to think about the best format/shape to offer.

Format Options

For agglayer configuration files, four main formats are being considered:

• PascalCase: Often used for class names in object-oriented programming. Examples: LayerConfig, MaxConnections.

• lowercase: A simple format, all in lowercase without spaces or hyphens. Examples: layerconfig, maxconnections.

• snake_case: Uses underscores to separate words, commonly seen in Python. Examples: layer_config, max_connections.

• kebab-case: Uses hyphens to separate words, making it easy to read and type. Examples: layer-config, max-connections.

Analysis of Options

PascalCase

• Pros: Common in programming, good readability for developers.
• Cons: Can be confused with class names, less intuitive for textual configurations.

[Auth.GcpKms]
ProjectId = ""
Location = ""
Keyring = ""
KeyName = ""

[Outbound.Rpc.Settle]
MaxRetries = 10
RetryInterval = 1
Confirmations = 3

lowercase

• Pros: Simple, no special characters.
• Cons: Difficult to read for complex configurations, lacks visual word separation.

[auth.gcpkms]
projectid = ""
location = ""
keyring = ""
keyname = ""

[outbound.rpc.settle]
maxretries = 10
retryinterval = 1
confirmations = 3

snake_case:

• Pros: Clear word separation, familiar to many developers.
• Cons: Underscores can be harder to type quickly and may be less aesthetically pleasing.

# snake_case

[auth.gcp_kms]
project_id = ""
location = ""
keyring = ""
key_name = ""

[outbound.rpc.settle]
max_retries = 10
retry_interval = 1
confirmations = 3

kebab-case:

• Pros
  • Readability: Hyphens provide clear word separation, enhancing readability.
  • Uniformity: Promotes consistency throughout the configuration file.
  • Widespread Use: Increasingly popular for configuration files in modern frameworks like YAML and CSS practices.
• Cons: May be perceived as less traditional by developers accustomed to other formats.

# kebab-case

[auth.gcp-kms]
project-id = ""
location = ""
keyring = ""
key-name = ""

[outbound.rpc.settle]
max-retries = 10
retry-interval = 1
confirmations = 3

Personal point of view

For me, the kebab-case format emerges as the best solution for agglayer configuration files. As its adoption ensures better readability and increased consistency while facilitating the maintenance.

[iljakuklic]

Aesthetically I like kebab case the best.

Wondering though how important is it to maintain backwards compatibility here?

[Freyskeyd]

Currently, we have backward compatibility with the old configuration from Go, but I think it can be fairly easy to add/update things without breaking based on what we did so far.

[muursh]

I'd vote kebab too tbh.

[Freyskeyd]

The format we choose is kebab-case.