Placement Of INI Files

Initialization files can be used in any number of ways as desired by the software developer. This is because of the lack of rules regarding their use within the software industry. For the purposes of this recommended practice the location of two specific types of INI files will be discussed; INI files used for application startup or application specific information, and INI files shared and modified by several vendors.

1. 3.1.1 INI Files used for Application Startup or Application Specific Information 

   Initialization files used to provide startup, configuration criteria, or other application specific information for a software application should be placed in the target directory of the application. If they are "Shared Initialization files" similar to shared DLL's (see above), they should be placed in the shared directory within the application directory.

   Example:

   Vendor name: "VendorX" 

   Application name: "EngineDiagnostics" 

   INI name: "MyStartuplnfo.ini" 

   Example Placement:

   "\ProgramFiles\VendorX\EngineDiagnostics\MyStartuplnfo.ini"

   "\Program Files\VendorX \shared\SharedlNl.ini"

2. 3.1.2 INI files Shared and Modified by Several Vendors. 

   INI files shared and modified by several vendors are files designed to provide information specific to one or more vendors. For example, TMC RP 1210A makes use of a shared INI file that enables the host application to obtain a list of available vehicle interface devices. This particular INI file has been modified whenever a new piece of hardware has been installed on that PC. These types of INI files should be placed in the "\windows" directory on the target platform.

Example:

INI name: "AVendorShared.ini" 

Example Placement: "\Windows\AVendorShared.ini"