This does work well. A team I was on at a past job did exactly this. On Unix the service literally ran `std::system("python config.py >config.json")` on startup.
The problem with this is that the answer to the question "what kind of configuration can I expect?" is "simulate the script and find out."
If the script is written well, and is short, then the parameters that are filled in by the runtime environment are apparent. Over time, though, there is a risk that the script will not remain written well, and it almost certainly won't remain short.
The problem with this is that the answer to the question "what kind of configuration can I expect?" is "simulate the script and find out."
If the script is written well, and is short, then the parameters that are filled in by the runtime environment are apparent. Over time, though, there is a risk that the script will not remain written well, and it almost certainly won't remain short.