Storage Methods?

So I am debating about which storage methods I should be using in my plugins. I could use HashMaps or MetaData, however neither one is persistent. I've heard the only way to persistently store things is by creating a file and loading it in onEnable(), although I was wondering if there are any other persistent methods of storage. If not, then how do I create and call on files? I've always been wondering this.

 

For persistence, just store it in SQL and restore it at startup.

 

Zach_1919
You have several methods:
1. SQL - SQL is fast, but it may not be available to all servers.
2. YAML - YAML comes with Bukkit, but is somewhat limited.
3. Java's libraries - These come with Java and can be used for any kind of data imaginable.

 

What about LiteSQL? It's offline so not limited by server restrictions.

 

AmShaegar Technius Well I have heard of SQL, but I'm not that familiar with it, and I do not know much about YAML, but I assumed it would be limited. How can I store in the Java Libraries?

 

I guess he meant basic IO like FileWriter/-Reader etc.

To sum it all up: You want to save data but you do not know any IO basics. I guess you should read some tutorials.

 

YAML and the config API is easy to pickup for beginners, especially if you need to store a few booleans, strings, integers, etc.

Also, what limitations are you thinking of when it comes to YAML? Technius.

 

AmShaegar Yeah, I know, I hate to be that noob that comes on the forums without doing any searching, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it at first

 

Firefly
Some data, such as world files, will have large sizes when stored with YAML. It is also difficult to insert comments into YAML using code. I can't think of the other limitations right now.

Zach_1919
The Java tutorials for IO can be found here. If you don't want to use the Java libraries, you can find a YAML tutorial here.

 

Technius Yay :} Thank you sooo much

EDIT: The only thing is, how do I create a new file and call on that file, not using Bukkit methods. Bukkit methods only look for config.yml. Is there some way that I can call on a specific yaml?

 

Code:

public void reloadMessageConfig() {
        messagesfile = new File(plugin.getDataFolder(), "messages.yml");
        messageconfig = YamlConfiguration.loadConfiguration(messagesfile);
    }

 

Yeah, plus you'll get countless questions from players asking why their plugin config fails to load. A tiny space here, a tab somewhere else, and you get sections instead of setting values. Any config file format that relies on indentation is a piece of <bleep>.

 

Meh, they are perfectly suitable for my needs. Custom objects can be easily saved to the config API and I don't have to fiddle with I/O. Plus, server admins have become accustomed to using the YAML format: so using it whenever you can is a good idea.

 

Yep, this entire world is filled with server admins, and they all use proper tools for modifying them, definitely not Notepad.