Use properties file instead of static final variables

Question

I have many classes with static final fields which are used as default values or config. What is best approach to create global config file? Should I move these fields to single static class, use properties file or what?

Edit: I need to use this values both in java classes and xhtml pages. Values dosen't depend on envirnoment. I could compile project to set new values - no problem.

Answer 1

The answer depends...

• Put stuff in properties files if the values change depending on runtime environment (eg database connection settings, foreign server IPs), or that will likely change often/soon
• Prefer using enum to static final constants where possible (avoid "stringly typed" code)
• Find an existing library that might have what you want (eg use TimeUnit to convert hours to seconds, rather than having static final int SECONDS_IN_HOUR = 3600;)
• What's left (that hopefully isn't going to change any time soon), use public static final in the class that has "most ownership" over them
• Avoid classes that have static methods that return a constant - it's just code bloat