We Keep Coding

Cannot get custom configuration section to work in app.config

I followed a tutorial on Stackoverflow to add a custom configuration section to my exe's config file, however on calling it, it is returning null. It's not even getting into the static constructors so something is clearly wrong, but I can't see what.
Here is my config file and the section I wish to find.
<configuration>
<appSettings>
</appSettings>
<configSections>
<section name="PresetFilters" type="ImageTool.PresetFiltersConfiguration, ImageTool" />
</configSections>
<PresetFilters>
<add key="Default,-20,0,0,0,0" />
<add key="No Change,0,0,0,0,0" />
<add key="Dark Photo,10,10,0,0,-10" />
</PresetFilters>
</configuration>
I call it like this:
PresetFiltersConfiguration pf = (PresetFiltersConfiguration)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("PresetFilters");
and it returns null and doesn't even enter my class or class statics. Here's the code. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
public class PresetFiltersConfiguration : ConfigurationSection
{
private static ConfigurationPropertyCollection properties;
private static ConfigurationProperty propPresets;
static PresetFiltersConfiguration()
{
propPresets = new ConfigurationProperty(null, typeof(PresetFiltersElementCollection),
null,
ConfigurationPropertyOptions.IsDefaultCollection);
properties = new ConfigurationPropertyCollection { propPresets };
}
protected override ConfigurationPropertyCollection Properties
{
get
{
return properties;
}
}
public PresetFiltersElementCollection PresetFilter
{
get
{
return this[propPresets] as PresetFiltersElementCollection;
}
}
}
public class PresetFiltersElementCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
public PresetFiltersElementCollection()
{
properties = new ConfigurationPropertyCollection();
}
private static ConfigurationPropertyCollection properties;
protected override ConfigurationPropertyCollection Properties
{
get
{
return properties;
}
}
public override ConfigurationElementCollectionType CollectionType
{
get
{
return ConfigurationElementCollectionType.BasicMap;
}
}
protected override string ElementName
{
get
{
return "add";
}
}
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new PresetFiltersElement();
}
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
var elm = element as PresetFiltersElement;
if (elm == null) throw new ArgumentNullException();
return elm.KeyName;
}
}
public class PresetFiltersElement : ConfigurationElement
{
private static ConfigurationPropertyCollection properties;
private static ConfigurationProperty propKey;
protected override ConfigurationPropertyCollection Properties
{
get
{
return properties;
}
}
public PresetFiltersElement()
{
propKey = new ConfigurationProperty("key", typeof(string),
null,
ConfigurationPropertyOptions.IsKey);
properties = new ConfigurationPropertyCollection { propKey };
}
public PresetFiltersElement(string keyName)
: this()
{
KeyName = keyName;
}
public string KeyName
{
get
{
return this[propKey] as string;
}
set
{
this[propKey] = value;
}
}
}

You need something like this in your app.config, otherwise the application won't know how to process your new section.
<configSections>
<sectionGroup name="pageAppearanceGroup">
<section
name="PresetFilters"
type="PresetFiltersConfiguration"
allowLocation="true"
allowDefinition="Everywhere"
/>
</sectionGroup>
</configSections>

After applying the fixes it worked, but the actual fault is to do with it not working for class libraries, and I've created a new question for this.
Thanks.

C# .Net 4.0 - Custom Configuration File with Attributes and sections

I know that this topic has been covered in a number of different Stackoverflow articles, and I have read about 30 of them to make sure that what I am doing matches up with those. It is (even fro the .Net 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 version of the answers)
I am attempting to create a very simple (at least in my mind) configuration file with custom attributes on the sections, and then optional items within the sections. So, now to the code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<CustomSiteConfiguration>
<Sites>
<Site siteRoot="/Site US" name="SiteUS_en">
</Site>
<Site siteRoot="/Site Canada" name="SiteCanada_en">
</Site>
<Site siteRoot="/Partner" name="Partner_en">
<siteSettings>
<setting name="" value="" />
</siteSettings>
<JavaScriptBundles>
<file name="" />
</JavaScriptBundles>
<CSSBundles>
<file name="" />
</CSSBundles>
</Site>
</Sites>
</CustomSiteConfiguration>
So, what you are looking at is a global Section of type Sites which contains multiple sections (CollectionElementCollections) of type Site. Site is defined by custom attributes on the item, as well as optional items within the section itself. So, siteSettings is optional, JavaScriptBundles is optional, and CSSBundles are also optional.
The C# Code is below:
For Sites
public class CustomGlobalSiteConfiguration : ConfigurationSection
{
public CustomGlobalSiteConfiguration() { }
[ConfigurationProperty("Sites")]
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(SitesCollection), AddItemName="Site")]
public SitesCollection Sites
{
get
{
return (SitesCollection)base["Sites"];
}
}
}
For Site Collections
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(SitesCollection), AddItemName="Site")]
public class SitesCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
// Constructor
public SitesCollection() { }
/*
public CustomSiteConfiguration this[int index]
{
get { return (CustomSiteConfiguration)BaseGet(index); }
set
{
if (BaseGet(index) != null)
{
BaseRemoveAt(index);
}
BaseAdd(index, value);
}
} // end of public siteSetting this [int index]
* */
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((CustomSiteConfiguration)element).name;
}
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new SitesCollection();
}
}
For Site Definition
/**
* Overarching structure of the Site Item
**/
public class CustomSiteConfiguration : ConfigurationElement
{
[ConfigurationProperty("siteRoot")]
public String siteRoot
{
get
{
return (String)this["siteRoot"];
}
set
{
this["siteRoot"] = value;
}
}
[ConfigurationProperty("name")]
public String name
{
get
{
return (String)this["name"];
}
set
{
this["name"] = value;
}
}
[ConfigurationProperty("siteSettings", IsRequired=false)]
public CustomSiteSiteSettings siteSettings
{
get
{
return this["siteSettings"] as CustomSiteSiteSettings;
}
}
[ConfigurationProperty("JavaScriptBundles", IsRequired = false)]
public JavaScriptBundles javaSciptBundle
{
get
{
return this["JavaScriptBundles"] as JavaScriptBundles;
}
}
[ConfigurationProperty("CSSBundles", IsRequired = false)]
public CSSBundles cssBundle
{
get
{
return this["CSSBundles"] as CSSBundles;
}
}
} // end of public class CustomSiteConfiguration : ConfigurationSection
For SiteSettings Definition
/**
* Subsection - Site Settings
**/
public class CustomSiteSiteSettings : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
// Constructor
public CustomSiteSiteSettings() { }
public siteSetting this [int index]
{
get { return (siteSetting)BaseGet(index); }
set
{
if (BaseGet(index) != null)
{
BaseRemoveAt(index);
}
BaseAdd(index, value);
}
} // end of public siteSetting this [int index]
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((siteSetting)element).name;
}
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new CustomSiteSiteSettings();
}
} // end of public class CustomSiteSiteSettings : ConfigurationSection
Site Setting Element
public class siteSetting : ConfigurationElement
{
[ConfigurationProperty("name")]
public String name
{
get
{
return (String)this["name"];
}
set
{
this["name"] = value;
}
} // end of public String name
[ConfigurationProperty("value")]
public String value
{
get
{
return (String)this["value"];
}
set
{
this["value"] = value;
}
} // end of public String value
} // end of public class siteSetting : ConfigurationElement
I am leaving out the other items for space, but the other parts look the same. Basically, what is happening is, I am getting
Unrecognized attribute 'siteRoot'. Note that attribute names are case-sensitive.
Looking at everything, it appears that I should be fine, however, I think I may be doing too much and missing things. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

I have figured out what was wrong with my code. I am going to provide the information below. I used the following article for help on tracking down some of the pieces: How to implement a ConfigurationSection with a ConfigurationElementCollection
I took the entire code base back to nothing and built it up from scratch. The XML is still the same
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<CustomSiteConfiguration>
<Sites>
<Site siteRoot="/Site US" name="SiteUS_en">
</Site>
<Site siteRoot="/Site Canada" name="SiteCanada_en">
</Site>
<Site siteRoot="/Partner" name="Partner_en">
<siteSettings>
<setting name="" value="" />
</siteSettings>
<JavaScriptBundles>
<file name="" />
</JavaScriptBundles>
<CSSBundles>
<file name="" />
</CSSBundles>
</Site>
</Sites>
</CustomSiteConfiguration>
So, first I started with the Sites Container
public class CustomSiteSettingsSection : ConfigurationSection
{
[ConfigurationProperty("Sites")]
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(SiteCollection), AddItemName="Site")]
public SiteCollection Sites
{
get
{
return (SiteCollection)base["Sites"];
}
} // end of public SiteCollection Site
} // end of public class CustomSiteSettings : ConfigurationSection {
And then I added the SiteCollection for the Collection of Site Elements
public class SiteCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
// Constructor
public SiteCollection() { }
public SiteElement this[int index]
{
get { return (SiteElement)BaseGet(index); }
set
{
if (BaseGet(index) != null)
{
BaseRemoveAt(index);
}
BaseAdd(index, value);
}
} // end of public SiteElement this[int index]
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new SiteElement();
} // end of protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((SiteElement)element).name;
}
} // end of public class SiteCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
Then I added the definition for the Site with optional values
public class SiteElement : ConfigurationElement
{
// Constructor
public SiteElement() { }
[ConfigurationProperty("name", IsRequired = true, IsKey = true)]
public String name
{
get { return (String)this["name"]; }
set { this["name"] = value; }
} // end of public String name
[ConfigurationProperty("siteRoot", IsRequired = true)]
public String siteRoot
{
get { return (String)this["siteRoot"]; }
set { this["siteRoot"] = value; }
} // end of public String siteRoot
[ConfigurationProperty("siteSettings", IsRequired=false)]
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(SiteSettingsElementCollection), AddItemName = "setting")]
public SiteSettingsElementCollection siteSettings
{
get
{
return (SiteSettingsElementCollection)base["siteSettings"];
}
} // end of public SiteCollection Site
} // end of public class SiteElement : ConfigurationElement
Next I added the SiteSettings Collection
public class SiteSettingsElementCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
// Constructor
public SiteSettingsElementCollection() { }
public SiteSettingElement this[int index]
{
get { return (SiteSettingElement)BaseGet(index); }
set
{
if (BaseGet(index) != null)
{
BaseRemoveAt(index);
}
BaseAdd(index, value);
}
} // end of public SiteElement this[int index]
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new SiteSettingElement();
} // end of protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((SiteSettingElement)element).name;
}
} // end of public class SiteCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
And finally, I added the Setting Element Definition
public class SiteSettingElement : ConfigurationElement
{
public SiteSettingElement() { }
[ConfigurationProperty("name", IsRequired=true, IsKey=true)]
public String name
{
get { return (String)this["name"]; }
set { this["name"] = value; }
} // end of public String name
[ConfigurationProperty("value", IsRequired = true)]
public String value
{
get { return (String)this["value"]; }
set { this["value"] = value; }
} // end of public String value
} // end of public class SiteSettingElement : ConfigurationElement
At this point, I just repeat the same for the two bundles. In the end this all works, and allows for optional settings and sections.

Unrecognized element "Item" in config file with custom config section

I have a custom config which is based on some classes. My problem is that I get an error saying that a config element is unrecognized. The class is as follows:
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(SectionItem), AddItemName = "Item", CollectionType = ConfigurationElementCollectionType.BasicMap)]
public class Sections : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
public SectionItem this[int index]
{
get { return BaseGet(index) as SectionItem; }
set
{
if (BaseGet(index) != null)
{
BaseRemoveAt(index);
}
BaseAdd(index, value);
}
}
public new SectionItem this[string response]
{
get { return (SectionItem)BaseGet(response); }
set
{
if (BaseGet(response) != null)
{
BaseRemoveAt(BaseIndexOf(BaseGet(response)));
}
BaseAdd(value);
}
}
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new SectionItem();
}
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((SectionItem)element).Key;
}
}
And the SectionItem class:
public class SectionItem : ConfigurationElement
{
[ConfigurationProperty("key", IsRequired = true, IsKey = true)]
public string Key
{
get { return this["key"] as string; }
}
}
If I add a configuration property of type SectionItems in the Sections class that won't work for me, because I want to have multiple SectonItems inside the Section tag in the config file. I've searched for solutions but everything I've found didn't do the trick with this.
For a better understanding of what I'm trying to achieve this is how my config looks:
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="AdminConfig" type="XmlTest.AdminConfig, XmlTest"/>
</configSections>
<startup>
<supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.5" />
</startup>
<AdminConfig>
<Field name="field1" key="12345" path="asd"/>
<Section>
<Item key="12345"/>
<Item key="54321"/>
</Section>
</AdminConfig>
</configuration>

OK so I've found the problem. Although the Sections class had this [ConfigurationCollection(typeof(SectionItem), AddItemName = "Item", CollectionType = ConfigurationElementCollectionType.BasicMap)] I had to annotate the property in the ConfigurationSection class, as follows:
[ConfigurationProperty("Section")]
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(Sections), AddItemName = "Item")]
public Sections Sections
{
get
{
return (Sections)this["Section"];
}
}
Now the items are recognized and stuff is working properly.

how to have custom attribute in ConfigurationElementCollection?

for configuration as following
<MyCollection default="one">
<entry name="one" ... other attrubutes />
... other entries
</MyCollection>
when implement a MyCollection, what should i do for the "default" attribute?

Let's suppose you have this .config file:
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="mySection" type="ConsoleApplication1.MySection, ConsoleApplication1" /> // update type & assembly names accordingly
</configSections>
<mySection>
<MyCollection default="one">
<entry name="one" />
<entry name="two" />
</MyCollection>
</mySection>
</configuration>
Then, with this code:
public class MySection : ConfigurationSection
{
[ConfigurationProperty("MyCollection", Options = ConfigurationPropertyOptions.IsRequired)]
public MyCollection MyCollection
{
get
{
return (MyCollection)this["MyCollection"];
}
}
}
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(EntryElement), AddItemName = "entry", CollectionType = ConfigurationElementCollectionType.BasicMap)]
public class MyCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new EntryElement();
}
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
if (element == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("element");
return ((EntryElement)element).Name;
}
[ConfigurationProperty("default", IsRequired = false)]
public string Default
{
get
{
return (string)base["default"];
}
}
}
public class EntryElement : ConfigurationElement
{
[ConfigurationProperty("name", IsRequired = true, IsKey = true)]
public string Name
{
get
{
return (string)base["name"];
}
}
}
you can read the configuration with the 'default' attribute, like this:
MySection section = (MySection)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("mySection");
Console.WriteLine(section.MyCollection.Default);
This will output "one"

I don't know if it's possible to have a default value in a ConfigurationElementCollection. (it doesn't seen to have any property for default value).
I guess you have to implement this by yourself. Look at the example below.
public class Repository : ConfigurationElement
{
[ConfigurationProperty("key", IsRequired = true)]
public string Key
{
get { return (string)this["key"]; }
}
[ConfigurationProperty("value", IsRequired = true)]
public string Value
{
get { return (string)this["value"]; }
}
}
public class RepositoryCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new Repository();
}
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return (element as Repository).Key;
}
public Repository this[int index]
{
get { return base.BaseGet(index) as Repository; }
}
public new Repository this[string key]
{
get { return base.BaseGet(key) as Repository; }
}
}
public class MyConfig : ConfigurationSection
{
[ConfigurationProperty("currentRepository", IsRequired = true)]
private string InternalCurrentRepository
{
get { return (string)this["currentRepository"]; }
}
[ConfigurationProperty("repositories", IsRequired = true)]
private RepositoryCollection InternalRepositories
{
get { return this["repositories"] as RepositoryCollection; }
}
}
Here's the XML config:
<myConfig currentRepository="SQL2008">
<repositories>
<add key="SQL2008" value="abc"/>
<add key="Oracle" value="xyz"/>
</repositories>
</myConfig>
And then, at your code, you access the default item using the following:
MyConfig conf = (MyConfig)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("myConfig");
string myValue = conf.Repositories[conf.CurrentRepository].Value;
Of course, the MyConfig class can hide the details of accessing the Repositories and CurrentRepository properties. You can have a property called DefaultRepository (of type Repository) in MyConfig class to return this.

This may be a bit late but may be helpful to others.
It is possible but with some modification.
ConfigurationElementCollection inherits ConfigurationElement as such "this[string]" is available in ConfigurationElement.
Usually when ConfigurationElementCollection is inherited and implemented in another class, the "this[string]" is hidden with "new this[string]".
One way to get around it is to create another implementation of this[] such as "this[string, string]"
See example below.
public class CustomCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection
{
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new CustomElement();
}
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((CustomElement)element).Name;
}
public CustomElement this[int index]
{
get { return (CustomElement)base.BaseGet(index); }
set
{
if (BaseGet(index) != null)
BaseRemoveAt(index);
BaseAdd(index, value);
}
}
// ConfigurationElement this[string] now becomes hidden in child class
public new CustomElement this[string name]
{
get { return (CustomElement)BaseGet(name); }
}
// ConfigurationElement this[string] is now exposed
// however, a value must be entered in second argument for property to be access
// otherwise "this[string]" will be called and a CustomElement returned instead
public object this[string name, string str = null]
{
get { return base[name]; }
set { base[name] = value; }
}
}

If you want to genericize it, this should help:
using System.Configuration;
namespace Abcd
{
// Generic implementation of ConfigurationElementCollection.
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(ConfigurationElement))]
public class ConfigurationElementCollection<T> : ConfigurationElementCollection
where T : ConfigurationElement, IConfigurationElement, new()
{
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new T();
}
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((IConfigurationElement)element).GetElementKey();
}
public T this[int index]
{
get { return (T)BaseGet(index); }
}
public T GetElement(object key)
{
return (T)BaseGet(key);
}
}
}
Here's the interface referenced above:
namespace Abcd
{
public interface IConfigurationElement
{
object GetElementKey();
}
}

Custom Configuration Collection - Unrecognized element 'addService'

Example from MSDN on making a custom config section that should work as follows,
class RemoteServiceSection : ConfigurationSection
{
[ConfigurationProperty("remoteServices", IsDefaultCollection=false)]
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(RemoteServiceCollection), AddItemName="addService", ClearItemsName="clearServices",
RemoveItemName="removeService")]
public RemoteServiceCollection Services
{
get
{
return this["remoteServices"] as RemoteServiceCollection;
}
}
}
class RemoteServiceCollection : ConfigurationElementCollection, IList<RemoteServiceElement>
{
public RemoteServiceCollection()
{
RemoteServiceElement element = (RemoteServiceElement)CreateNewElement();
Add(element);
}
public override ConfigurationElementCollectionType CollectionType
{
get
{
return ConfigurationElementCollectionType.AddRemoveClearMap;
}
}
protected override ConfigurationElement CreateNewElement()
{
return new RemoteServiceElement();
}
protected override object GetElementKey(ConfigurationElement element)
{
return ((RemoteServiceElement)element).Hostname;
}
protected override string ElementName
{
get
{
return "remoteService";
}
}
public new IEnumerator<RemoteServiceElement> GetEnumerator()
{
foreach (RemoteServiceElement element in this)
{
yield return element;
}
}
public void Add(RemoteServiceElement element)
{
BaseAdd(element, true);
}
public void Clear()
{
BaseClear();
}
public bool Contains(RemoteServiceElement element)
{
return !(BaseIndexOf(element) < 0);
}
public void CopyTo(RemoteServiceElement[] array, int index)
{
base.CopyTo(array, index);
}
public bool Remove(RemoteServiceElement element)
{
BaseRemove(GetElementKey(element));
return true;
}
bool ICollection<RemoteServiceElement>.IsReadOnly
{
get { return IsReadOnly(); }
}
public int IndexOf(RemoteServiceElement element)
{
return BaseIndexOf(element);
}
public void Insert(int index, RemoteServiceElement element)
{
BaseAdd(index, element);
}
public void RemoveAt(int index)
{
BaseRemoveAt(index);
}
public RemoteServiceElement this[int index]
{
get
{
return (RemoteServiceElement)BaseGet(index);
}
set
{
if (BaseGet(index) != null)
{
BaseRemoveAt(index);
}
BaseAdd(index, value);
}
}
}
class RemoteServiceElement : ConfigurationElement
{
public RemoteServiceElement() { }
public RemoteServiceElement(string ip, string port)
{
this.IpAddress = ip;
this.Port = port;
}
[ConfigurationProperty("hostname", IsKey = true, IsRequired = true)]
public string Hostname
{
get
{
return (string)this["hostname"];
}
set
{
this["hostname"] = value;
}
}
[ConfigurationProperty("ipAddress", IsRequired = true)]
public string IpAddress
{
get
{
return (string)this["ipAddress"];
}
set
{
this["ipAddress"] = value;
}
}
[ConfigurationProperty("port", IsRequired = true)]
public string Port
{
get
{
return (string)this["port"];
}
set
{
this["port"] = value;
}
}
}
}
I am getting the error that says 'Unrecognized element 'addService'. I think I've followed the MSDN article exactly. It can be found here - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.configuration.configurationcollectionattribute.aspx
Thanks in advance for your help. This is what I wrote in app.config (with brackets of course that dont show up here?):
<remoteServices>
<addService hostname="xxxxxxx" ipAddress="xxx.x.xxx.xx" port="xxxx" >
</remoteServices>
Here is app.config as requested, x'ing out the specific names just for privacy purposes, they are just strings:
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="remoteServices" type="AqEntityTests.RemoteServiceSection,
AqEntityTests" allowLocation="true" allowDefinition="Everywhere"/>
</configSections>
<remoteServices>
<addService hostname="xxxxxx.xxxxxxx.com"
ipAddress="xxx.x.xxx.xx"
port="xx" />
</remoteServices>

For future generations:
Your config should look like this:
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="remoteServices" type="AqEntityTests.RemoteServiceSection,
AqEntityTests" allowLocation="true" allowDefinition="Everywhere"/>
</configSections>
<remoteServices>
<remoteServices>
<addService hostname="xxxxxx.xxxxxxx.com"
ipAddress="xxx.x.xxx.xx"
port="xx" />
</remoteServices>
</remoteServices>
</configuration>
Why?
You add to node:
<configSections>
custom section named:
name="remoteServices"
with type
type="AqEntityTests.RemoteServiceSection
and then in code, you add property to your custom section:
[ConfigurationProperty("remoteServices", IsDefaultCollection=false)]
Meaning you created node inside node with both having same name. Because of that you have received error "Unrecognized element 'addService'". Just compiler informing you that such element should not be in that node.
Two links for quick learning of custom configuration:
Custom Configuration Sections for Lazy Coders
How to create sections with collections

You might also look into using an unnamed default collection as I mention here
That allows you to add items in the manner you suggest.