RE: URL Filter List file format

On Tuesday, September 20, 2011 9:47 AM, Karl Dubost wrote:
> Adrian,
> 
> Would you know why Microsoft has chosen to create a new format instead of
> using, for example, .ini files which are used currently by a lot of software
> and libraries including Microsoft ones?
> 
> The filter list format for Opera is currently .ini file [1]
> 
> [1]: http://www.opera.com/support/mastering/kiosk/#url-filter

Hi Karl,

The two main goals we had with the format were ease of authoring and
performance. We considered different formats including INI but one important
property we wanted was that each line of the file be processed in a stateless
way.

In a filter list, I can place an exception rule right next to a block rule.
For example,

-d sitetoblock.com
+d sitetoblock.com allow/this/path

This type of common practice is difficult to do with INI files, which would
typically break blocking and allow rules into different sections of the file.

Cheers,

Adrian.

Received on Wednesday, 21 September 2011 19:00:34 UTC