App.config vs. .ini files
.net, c#, configuration
Solution
Well, on average, .INI files are probably more compact and in a way more readable to humans. XML is a bit of a pain to read, and its quite verbose.
However, app.config of course is the standard .NET configuration mechanism that is supported in .NET and has lots of hooks and ways to do things. If you go with .INI files, you're basically "rolling your own all the way". Classic case of "reinventing the wheel".
Then again: is there any chance this is a project that started its life before .NET ? Or a port of an existing pre-.NET Windows app where .INI files were the way to go?
There's nothing inherently wrong with .INI files I think - they're just not really suported in .NET anymore, and you're on your own for extending them, handling them etc. And it certainly is a "stumper" if you ever need to bring outside help on board - hardly any .NET developer will have been exposed to .INI files while the .NET config system is fairly widely known and understood.
Problem
I'm reviewing a .NET project, and I came across some pretty heavy usage of .ini files for configuration. I would much prefer to use app.config files instead, but before I jump in and make an issue out of this with the devs, I wonder if there are any valid reasons to favor .ini files over app.config?