Simple Preferences for Java

When storing preferences for applications on Java, there is a built in Preferences API. If you need full control of preference storage or need to change it from applications external to Java or manually, one of the options I discussed last year may be better (if you need an XML file in a specific location for example), but if you just need simple cross-platform preference storage, the built in option is ideal.

Usage Summary

import java.util.prefs.Preferences;

Preferences prefs = Preferences.userNodeForPackage( getClass() );

prefs.get("keyName", "default value");

prefs.put("keyName", "new value");

The JavaDoc for it is quite confusing, so try this tutorial on java.util.prefs.Preferences instead.