Saving prefs

[DC200]

I've got an application that can launch n threads, each with its own settings. I'm passing values to these threads through a serializable object called Properties that contains public variables.

Right now, I'm saving my application preferences by adding all Properties objects to a collection and then writing them to a file. However, I'm starting to wonder whether or not I should be using java.util.prefs.Preferences and saving my preferences to an XML file instead.

Reading objects from a file is simple and straightforward when it comes to starting the threads, but modifying and saving the collection of objects is a pain. Should I switch to java.util.prefs.Preferences or not?

[KevinWorkman]

Reading objects from a file is simple and straightforward when it comes to starting the threads, but modifying and saving the collection of objects is a pain. Should I switch to java.util.prefs.Preferences or not?

Why not try it both ways and see which one you like better?

[DC200]

Is it bad practice to save preferences as serializable objects written to a file? It's fast and easy, but the XML option still seems cleaner to me.

[toadaly]

If you use Preferences, they may get persisted independent of the xml import/export feature. On unix systems, they'll get written into the user's home directory in a hidden .java directory. On Windows, they'll get persisted to the Window's registry. This potential side effect may be of concern if all you're trying to do is read/write xml files.