How to save persistant objects

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I am creating a note taking app (for learning purposes) using Winforms.

I have a static class which has an object which stores the notes as:
key: value
title: contents

The guides online for this are very confusing and I am looking for how to keep this object (noteDictionary) persistent so if the form is closed and open again I can still reference it. Also happy if someone can point me to much simpler guide they have found online.

Thanks

What I have tried:

I have tried using the built in Properties.Settings to visual studio, but am not sure how to use it for objects and not just simple variables.

Posted 13-May-22 0:36am

Member 15634817

Updated 13-May-22 4:54am

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Richard MacCutchan 13-May-22 7:11am

Most applications like this would store the data in a text file. You could use JSON or XML, but a simple heading word followed by the text would probably be easier.

2 solutions

Solution 2

For a single note, the Properties.Settings would suffice, and it's pretty easy to do: either use two settings - one for Key and one for Title:

C#

Properties.Settings.Default.NoteKey = Key;
Properties.Settings.Default.NoteTitle = Title;
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();

C#

Key = Properties.Settings.Default.NoteKey
Title = Properties.Settings.Default.NoteTitle;

Or select a character that won't be in a note ('|' for example) and concatenate them:

C#

Properties.Settings.Default.Note = $"{Key}|{Title}";
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();

C#

string[] parts = Properties.Settings.Default.Note.Split('|');
Key = parts[0];
Title = part[1];

Moving on from there, XML and JSON (or even CSV) are okay choices, but once the number of Notes increases they all become pretty unwieldy solutions and you want to start looking at using a database. Which probably sounds scary, but it's pretty easy and gives you a heck of a lot of advantages, particularly if you later want to share notes between users.

Me? I use a DB for most data storage, even if I suspect there won't be a lot of info as I'm often wrong and it turns out there is ... :laugh:

Posted 13-May-22 4:54am

OriginalGriff

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Member 15634817 13-May-22 11:07am

I have no experience with databases as of yet, but thanks for the answer anyway, as I think it is something I could look at as part of my learning

OriginalGriff 13-May-22 12:02pm

It's worth learning: when you get used to it, they are just so flexible compared to text-based data storage.

Good luck with the education! :thumbsup:

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CPallini · Accepted Answer · 2022-05-13T01:59:00

Solution 1

You could use the XMLSerializer class, see, for instance: C# Simple XmlSerializer example[^].

Posted 13-May-22 1:59am

CPallini

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Member 15634817 13-May-22 9:33am

Ye This ended up working, I've Serialized classes for passing around a program but didn't realise you could just save them into a local file :)

How to save persistant objects

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How to save persistant objects

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