Because (unless your app is written in Python) you don’t want to start a full-fledged Python run-time to read a config file. Nor do you want all the hassle of t

Because (unless your app is written in Python) you don’t want to start a full-fledged Python run-time to read a config file. Nor do you want all the hassle of trying to ship a Python run-time with your application. Edit: and moreover, you probably do not want config files that can run arbitrary code with full access to the Python standard library.