Read/Write Configuration in XML file

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Introduction

A class with a simple, easy to use interface, is ready to help every one to read/write application configuration in an effective way.

Background

First of all, I don't like ConfigurationSettings provided by the .NET framework, as I can not change the config as I want in the App. I did see many articles on the topic, but either they are too big and complex, get me distracted, or can not meet my requirement. My goal is simple: provide a default setting when first launching the App, and on exit, "remember" the user's preference. Registry is another option, but I prefer XML files, which you can open and check more conveniently.

Using the code

All the settings is set by key/value pairs in an XML file, you can insert/update/delete any key/value. The three major public methods are: GetValue, SetValue, removeElement, it's that simple. By default, the XML file should be put in the same folder as your EXE file.

GetValue, key= "CountryLoc"

Config config = new Config();
config.cfgFile = "app.config"; 

txtCountry.Text = 
  config.GetValue("//appSettings//add[@key='CountryLoc']");

I exposed //appSettings in the interface, as you may need access to key/value in different sections. For instance, if you GetValue from key1 in Company section, you can use:

config.GetValue("//Company//add[@key='key1']");

If the section is new, you need to set it up, for example, manually add <Company> </Company> into <configuration>...</configuration>. As in my case, I only have one section, so if you do not like manual thing, you are very welcome to put your code to enhance it. SetValue is quite similar:

config.SetValue("//appSettings//add[@key='" 
                   + txtKey.Text + "']", txtValue.Text);
// config.SetValue("//Company//add[@key='" + 
                     txtKey.Text + "']", txtValue.Text);

Remove element:

//config.removeElement("//Company//add[@key='" + 
//                         txtKey2.Text + "']");
config.removeElement("//appSettings//add[@key='" + 
                             txtKey2.Text + "']");

Reference

This article is based on some code I found on the internet which I have forgotten where it is.