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What is the widely-accepted way to store interface choices, such as ‘Do not show this message again’ settings, and any other interface-specific choices of the user? Registry? Settings files? I can also store them in a database, since my program already has access to one.
EDITS
My current program is local, however in the future I would like to make it web-based.
A non-web-based program:
I wouldn’t use a database. What happens if you decide to switch the database? Now you have to migrate the user data. What happens if they uninstall?
In Windows, settings files in the user’s AppData folder are appropriate. It’s also acceptable to not delete these on uninstall, so the settings will persist across that. I would shy away from the registry for user settings. That area is more appropriate for system settings.
There’s a similar area in *nix systems, but I’m not sure off the top of my head. It’s been too long.
A web-based program with local settings:
Cookies are pretty much the only computer-specific option for a web-based program. IP-based filters are a bad idea, since most consumer internet options will rotate IPs once a day to once a week. You could MAC filter, but that would involve using raw sockets to get the MAC address. And even then, you will probably end up with the address of a router, not a computer. Meaning two people on a single router would get the same settings.
A web-based program with global settings:
Your program should query a web service for this. The service is then free to implement it in whichever way is best at the time. A database is fitting in this scenario, as it’s likely that your user data already exists and is keyed therein, providing an easy way to associate data with particular users.