user.settings question

[thirteentwenty]

Hey all, it's me again...
and again I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this, please move if needed, thank you.

I've got what seems to be a basic question concerning user.settings.

What would be the preferred way of calling it

something like

Me.txt_someTextBox.Text = My.Settings.strSomething

or

Me.txt_someTextBox.Text = My.Settings.Item("strSomething").ToString

I've seen it done both ways in my meanderings on how this is used. But now I'm a bit confused about it, has one way been depreciated? Or is one way just "wrong"... what are your practices regarding its use?

Thanks again!

 

[JohnH]

Was that "strSomething" or "stringSomething" again? My.Settings.strSomething doesn't have that problem.

 

[Invisionsoft]

I would sometimes use the .Item alternative because you can then load a certain setting from a variable e.g. pseudo:

Dim SettingName as String = InputBox("Which setting?")
Dim SettingValue as String = My.Settings.Item(SettingName).ToString
Msgbox(SettingName + " is " + SettingValue)

 

[cjard]

Always, always, always prefer the strongly typed My.Settings.SettingName over the weakly typed My.Settings("SettingName")


My.Settings.SettingName <-- this is how we get the compiler to catch bugs at design time
My.Settings("SettingName") <-- this is how we cause obscure, hard-to-trace bugs

 

[Invisionsoft]

That's a good point, but by the time you're using My.Settings dynamically, you're a l33t debugger anyway.


- James

 

[thirteentwenty]

Ahh thank you for the clarification.

 

[cjard]

[one is] a l33t debugger anyway.

Not the phrase I'd have used

 

[Invisionsoft]

Not the phrase I'd use normally either, but at the time I thought it was the best way to get the message accross.

I guess it's true, right?

 

[cjard]

I guess it's true, right?

Not the the phrase I'd have used