Property Helper

The PropertyHelper class provides utilities for working with Java properties files (.properties). It offers enhanced functionality for reading, writing, and manipulating property files while preserving key order.

Basic Operations

Reading Properties

// Get a single property value
String dbUrl = PropertyHelper.getDataFromProperties(
    "config/database.properties", 
    "db.url"
);

// Get a property with default value
String timeout = PropertyHelper.getOrDefault(
    "config/app.properties", 
    "connection.timeout", 
    "30000" // default value
);

// Load all properties into a Properties object
Properties allConfig = PropertyHelper.getAllProperties("config/app.properties");

// Get properties as a Map
Map<String, String> configMap = PropertyHelper.getPropertiesAsMap("config/app.properties");

Writing Properties

// Set a single property
PropertyHelper.setDataToProperties(
    "config/app.properties", 
    "app.name", 
    "My Application"
);

// Add or update multiple properties from a Map
Map<String, String> newSettings = new HashMap<>();
newSettings.put("app.version", "1.2.3");
newSettings.put("app.build.date", "2023-05-15");
PropertyHelper.updatePropertiesFromMap(
    "config/app.properties", 
    newSettings
);

// Add only new properties from a Map (doesn't modify existing ones)
PropertyHelper.addNewPropertiesFromMap(
    "config/app.properties", 
    newSettings
);

// Update multiple properties using Properties object
Properties updates = new Properties();
updates.setProperty("db.host", "localhost");
updates.setProperty("db.port", "5432");
PropertyHelper.updateMultipleProperties(
    "config/database.properties", 
    updates
);

Property Management

// Check if a key exists
boolean hasKey = PropertyHelper.keyExists(
    "config/app.properties", 
    "app.debug"
);

// Remove a key
PropertyHelper.removeKeyFromProperties(
    "config/app.properties", 
    "temp.setting"
);

// Clear all properties
PropertyHelper.clearProperties("config/temp.properties");

// Count properties
int count = PropertyHelper.getPropertyCount("config/app.properties");

File Operations

// Create a backup of a properties file
PropertyHelper.backupProperties("config/important.properties");
// Creates a file like: config/important.properties.bak

// Restore from backup
PropertyHelper.restoreFromBackup("config/important.properties");

// Sort properties by key
PropertyHelper.sortPropertiesByKey("config/unsorted.properties");

Advanced Operations

// Load with specific character encoding
Properties unicodeProps = PropertyHelper.loadWithEncoding(
    "config/international.properties", 
    "UTF-8"
);

// Save with specific character encoding
PropertyHelper.saveWithEncoding(
    "config/international.properties", 
    properties, 
    "UTF-8"
);

// Compare two properties files
Map<String, String[]> diff = PropertyHelper.compareProperties(
    "config/app-dev.properties", 
    "config/app-prod.properties"
);
// Returns map with: different values, keys only in file1, keys only in file2

// Get keys matching a pattern
Set<String> dbKeys = PropertyHelper.getKeysMatchingPattern(
    "config/app.properties", 
    "db\\..*" // regex for keys starting with "db."
);

// Find values containing specific text
List<String> debugSettings = PropertyHelper.findValuesContaining(
    "config/app.properties", 
    "debug"
);

// Validate a property value against a regex pattern
boolean isValid = PropertyHelper.validatePropertyValue(
    "config/app.properties", 
    "app.version", 
    "\\d+\\.\\d+\\.\\d+" // regex for semantic versioning
);

// Get properties whose values match a pattern
Map<String, String> ipAddresses = PropertyHelper.getPropertiesMatchingValuePattern(
    "config/network.properties", 
    "\\d{1,3}\\.\\d{1,3}\\.\\d{1,3}\\.\\d{1,3}" // regex for IP addresses
);

Thread Safety

The PropertyHelper class ensures thread safety for write operations by using synchronized blocks. This prevents concurrent modifications that could lead to data corruption.

// This operation is thread-safe
PropertyHelper.setDataToProperties(
    "config/shared.properties", 
    "last.access", 
    new Date().toString()
);

Error Handling

All methods in the PropertyHelper class incorporate robust error handling and logging through the Ellithium reporting system. Operations log their status, making it easy to trace property file operations during test execution.

// Error handling example
try {
    String value = PropertyHelper.getDataFromProperties("nonexistent.properties", "key");
    // Logs error: "Error accessing properties file: ..."
} catch (Exception e) {
    // Additional error handling if needed
}

Key Order Preservation

Unlike the standard Java Properties class, PropertyHelper preserves the order of keys in properties files. This is achieved through a custom internal implementation of LinkedProperties that maintains insertion order.

Basic Operations​

Reading Properties​

Writing Properties​

Property Management​

File Operations​

Advanced Operations​

Thread Safety​

Error Handling​

Key Order Preservation​