config-parsing.md

Configuration File Parsing

This document describes the configuration file format and parsing behavior for Cache Simulator v1.4.1+.

Key Naming Convention

The configuration parser supports both snake_case and camelCase key names for backward compatibility.

Supported Formats

// snake_case (v1.2.x style)
{
  "block_size": 64,
  "write_policy": "WriteBack",
  "replacement_policy": "LRU"
}

// camelCase (preferred)
{
  "blockSize": 64,
  "writePolicy": "WriteBack",
  "replacementPolicy": "LRU"
}

Both formats are automatically normalized to camelCase during parsing.

Key Normalization

The parser converts snake_case keys to camelCase using the normalizeConfigKey() function:

Input Key	Normalized Key
block_size	blockSize
write_policy	writePolicy
replacement_policy	replacementPolicy
associativity	associativity

Recognized Keys

The parser validates keys against a known set:

Cache Configuration

• size, associativity, blockSize, replacementPolicy, writePolicy

Stream Buffer / Prefetching

• enabled, distance, degree, adaptive, forLevel

Victim Cache

• entries

Profiler Regions (v1.4.1)

• startAddress, endAddress, name

Error Messages

Unrecognized keys generate warnings with suggestions:

[Config Warning] Unrecognized key 'blok_size' in section 'l1'. Did you mean 'blockSize'?

Config File Version

All example config files should specify version "1.4.0" or later:

{
  "name": "My Configuration",
  "version": "1.4.0",
  "l1": { ... }
}

Profiler Regions (v1.4.1)

User-defined memory regions for profiling:

{
  "profilerRegions": [
    {
      "startAddress": "0x1000",
      "endAddress": "0x2000",
      "name": "Stack"
    },
    {
      "startAddress": "0x10000",
      "endAddress": "0x20000",
      "name": "Heap"
    }
  ]
}

Testing

Config parsing is validated by integration tests:

• tests/integration/config_parsing_test.cpp
• Tests all 8 example JSON configs
• Verifies snake_case normalization