Question

When writing my programs I typically use the java.util.Properties class to load a properties file that contains config parameters.

I typically write a utility class which has get methods to retrieve individual properties for example:

public long getConnectionTimeout() {
   String textVal=getProperty("connectionTimeout", "1000");
   return Long.parseLong(textVal); 
}

This method has suited me fine but it gets a bit tedious when there is a long list of properties to handle.

I am looking for a better way to do this.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Use HashMap for storing properties which will be associated with your properties file as I will show below. In your utility class, create a HashMap instance field.

HashMap<String,String> propertiesMap;

Then initialize it in your constructor or in an initializer method, you prefer.

propertiesMap = new HashMap<String,String>();

Populate the hashmap with the data coming from your properties file.

for (String key : properties.stringPropertyNames()) 
{
    String value = properties.getProperty(key);
    propertiesMap.put(key, value);
}

Then write a generic method to get a particular property with its name:

public String getProperty(String name)
{
    return propertiesMap.get(name);
}