Best/Proper way to process an extension-specific configuration (ini) file.

I am writing an extension that requires its own configuration file. I would prefer to not re-invent the parse a config file wheel and so, have been trying to use zend_parse_ini_file() function. Unfortunately, I have been unable to make this work, so far. If someone would either provide a code snippet for this or point me to one, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, Dave