This is a one-to-one replacement of java.util.Propeties
From the doc:
def __parse(self, lines):
""" Parse a list of lines and create
an internal property dictionary """
# Every line in the file must consist of either a comment
# or a key-value pair. A key-value pair is a line consisting
# of a key which is a combination of non-white space characters
# The separator character between key-value pairs is a '=',
# ':' or a whitespace character not including the newline.
# If the '=' or ':' characters are found, in the line, even
# keys containing whitespace chars are allowed.
# A line with only a key according to the rules above is also
# fine. In such case, the value is considered as the empty string.
# In order to include characters '=' or ':' in a key or value,
# they have to be properly escaped using the backslash character.
# Some examples of valid key-value pairs:
#
# key value
# key=value
# key:value
# key value1,value2,value3
# key value1,value2,value3 \
# value4, value5
# key
# This key= this value
# key = value1 value2 value3
# Any line that starts with a '#' is considerered a comment
# and skipped. Also any trailing or preceding whitespaces
# are removed from the key/value.
# This is a line parser. It parses the
# contents like by line.