Configuration defualst would then probably need to be turned into, for example, a dictionary:

map_reduce_type = {"default": "native_python", "unit":"string", "comment":"this can either be native_python or something else blah blah"}

something_energy_scale = {"default": 4, "units": "MeV/ADC count", "comment": "energy scale for something"}

I would like to make a json schema for the configuration. Then we need a schema parser that autogenerates documentation (from comments in the schema). Use the same parser for the json spill data parser.