Is this how to use a properties file?

Question

Hi:
The following is how I intend to create and read a properties file, please verify for me that the idea is correct.
1. create myProp.properties
2. in myProp, the content is like such:
a=myA
b=myB
c=myC
3. In my application,
  FileInputStream in = new FileInputStream(getClass().getResourceAsStream("/myProp.properties"));
  Properties p = new Properties();
  p.load(in);
  String a = p.getProperty("a");
  String b = p.getProperty("b");
  String c = p.getProperty("c");Thanx!

Answer 1

It depends on what youare doing but if you have a set of properties that you are going to always use from one running of the application to the next, they should generally be defined as static finals.
For example, lets say you want a configuration file for an application that holds the user's preferences. You might want something like this:
public class Preferences {
   private static final String ALWAYS_ON_TOP = "always on top";
   private Properities preferences = new Properties();
   static {
      //load the file
   public boolean setAlwaysOnTop(boolean alwaysOnTop) {
      preferences.put(ALWAYS_ON_TOP, String.valueOf(alwaysOnTop));
   public boolean getAlwaysOnTop() {
      return Boolean.valueOf(preferences.get(ALWAYS_ON_TOP));
   public void save() {
      /save file
}