CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#variablessave
BlueRay101
BlueRay101

Reputation: 1477

C# - Save Variables of a Program

I'm making a game now in C# (which is a Console Application) and its variables need to be saved.

I've tried using Settings but there's a big problem about it: If the file name is changed or the file is transferred to somewhere else, the Settings are lost.

So what is a good alternative to Settings for saving variables and retrieving them later in the application?

EDIT: I'd like to save the variables to a text file and retrieve it later, is it possible? If yes, then how?

And please don't suggest online servers, because I'm working on a singleplayer game without keeping tracks of the players whatsoever.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 7022

Answers (5)

Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi

Reputation: 172448

You may try to use the Isolated Storage

Isolated storage is not available for Windows Store apps. Instead, use the application data classes in the Windows.Storage namespaces included in the Windows Runtime API to store local data and files.

You may also try to use XML file to store the users setting and then store it in the SpecialFolder.ApplicationData directory.

You can also use the app.config file to save application-level settings

Upvotes: 0

Alex Walker
Alex Walker

Reputation: 2356

One simple way to store data of a fixed type is serialization with the BinaryFormatter class.

See the MSDN documentation for Binary Formatter. I've copied some of the relevant code here.

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Collections;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;

void SaveData() 
{
    // Create a hashtable of values that will eventually be serialized.
    Hashtable addresses = new Hashtable();
    addresses.Add("Jeff", "123 Main Street, Redmond, WA 98052");
    addresses.Add("Fred", "987 Pine Road, Phila., PA 19116");
    addresses.Add("Mary", "PO Box 112233, Palo Alto, CA 94301");

    // To serialize the hashtable and its key/value pairs,   
    // you must first open a stream for writing.  
    // In this case, use a file stream.
    FileStream fs = new FileStream("DataFile.dat", FileMode.Create);

    // Construct a BinaryFormatter and use it to serialize the data to the stream.
    BinaryFormatter formatter = new BinaryFormatter();
    try 
    {
        formatter.Serialize(fs, addresses);
    }
    catch (SerializationException e) 
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Failed to serialize. Reason: " + e.Message);
        throw;
    }
    finally 
    {
        fs.Close();
    }
}


void LoadData() 
{
    // Declare the hashtable reference.
    Hashtable addresses  = null;

    // Open the file containing the data that you want to deserialize.
    FileStream fs = new FileStream("DataFile.dat", FileMode.Open);
    try 
    {
        BinaryFormatter formatter = new BinaryFormatter();

        // Deserialize the hashtable from the file and  
        // assign the reference to the local variable.
        addresses = (Hashtable) formatter.Deserialize(fs);
    }
    catch (SerializationException e) 
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Failed to deserialize. Reason: " + e.Message);
        throw;
    }
    finally 
    {
        fs.Close();
    }

    // To prove that the table deserialized correctly,  
    // display the key/value pairs. 
    foreach (DictionaryEntry de in addresses) 
    {
        Console.WriteLine("{0} lives at {1}.", de.Key, de.Value);
    }
}

Upvotes: 5

Tigran
Tigran

Reputation: 62246

If your app structure is dynamic by it's nature, so it's name can be changed, location can be changed (even if , to be honest, don't understand reasons behind that) the only possibility I can see is relay in external source for retrieving or storing your config information.

In short: setup a server somewhere that holds your app configuration data, and on first startup try to reach that server, load file from it, read a data. If it fails, just load default information.

Good candidates could be : DropBox, SkyDrive, GoogleDrive, Box... find suitable C# API for any of them an store/read data you need. The only thing I would invite your attention to for this solution, is licensing. Keep an eye on it, and be sure that you can use it in your application in a way you decide to use it.

Upvotes: 3

Servy
Servy

Reputation: 203829

The only real option that isn't susceptible to the user intentionally changing the data stored on their computer, losing it due to changing machines, etc. would be to not store the data on their computer at all. Have a database or other server that you host that users connect to over the network which stores their data for them.

Upvotes: 1

Martin Milan
Martin Milan

Reputation: 6390

Saving the values out to a flat file...

Storing the values in an XML File, or a database file...

Windows Registry...

There are many places you can store information, and only experience will really teach you what to put where... To make an intelligent guess, you need to be familiar with all the approaches...

Upvotes: 1

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