Read a value from INI text

Challenge

Your job

int ini_get(const char *ini, const char *section, const char *key, char *out, size_t cap);

ini is newline-separated config text with [section] headers and key=value lines. Return the value for key inside section in out, or -1 if not found / overflow / NULL.

Hints

1. Track the current section as you see [name] lines.
2. Only match key= when you're inside the requested section.
3. Copy everything after the = into out.

Why this matters

INI/conf files drive countless tools. Looking up [section] key=value teaches stateful line parsing.

Starter code

#include <stddef.h>
int ini_get(const char *ini, const char *section, const char *key, char *out, size_t cap) {
    /* TODO */
    (void)ini; (void)section; (void)key; (void)out; (void)cap;
    return -1;
}

Common mistakes

Matching a key in the wrong section. Prefix-matching keys (use exact length). Forgetting the overflow guard.

Edge cases to handle

Same key in two sections. Missing key. Section with no such key.

Complexity

O(text length).

Background lessons

• Parsing CSV
• Log parsing — line iteration + classification

Up next

• Take the last N lines