General container settings

[anders-kiaer]

webviz-config has, in the configuration file, a dictionary called container_settings which are there for the user to set general configurations, shared between multiple containers.

The individual containers can ask for this dictionary, and take out the values they need (for a given predefined key). However - it would be useful if webviz-config had somewhat more knowledge about the structure of container_settings:

• If webviz-config knows the types of the different elements going in, it can do transformations (e.g. go from a string being a path relative to the configuration file, to an absolute Path instance).
• If the containers has some checks they want to perform on the dictionary containers_settings, they can do that early in the app startup process.
• webviz-config can potentially detect conflicts between different third-party containers requesting and (re)defining the same key in container_settings.

[anders-kiaer]

This is related to, and inspired by, https://github.com/equinor/webviz-subsurface/issues/128.

[anders-kiaer]

Since the nature of container_settings is common settings shared between containers, I don't think it makes sense to create a "subscribe to container settings" method in the containers (as that would require duplication of code).

Maybe instead on package level (e.g. webviz-subsurface) there could be a decorated function which registers which settings that package might want to use, together with corresponding types, and potentially also functions that should be called for simple error checks (like "does this path exist"?)

Thoughts @HansKallekleiv?

[HansKallekleiv]

Sounds good! If it is possible as you say to have a function at package level that provides the settings and types that would be very flexible and useful 👍