How can I save user options

guys i ve a similar problem.

I know that java.util.Preferences class saves data as per user account that is executing the application. I ve a web application that uses tomcat as a web server which runs as a service. My problem is that, i want to save, each user's prefereces, that logs in to my web application.

if java.util.Preferences is not the right approach to go for my problem i would gladly like to know any ther appraoch.

faisalabdulaziz at 2007-7-7 13:37:07 >

> I ve a web application that uses tomcat as a web

> server which runs as a service. My problem is that,

> i want to save, each user's prefereces, that logs in

> to my web application.

The classic way for a server to save user preferences is for the server to set a "cookie" in the client/user machine. This Google search has information and tutorial listings:

http://www.google.com/search?q=java+cookie+set

If you want to maintain the preferences on the server, then Java's Preferences class is designed to do that. Here's an example:

http://www.devx.com/tips/Tip/13446

and search results:

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&c2coff=1&q=java+save+user+preferences&spell=1

ChuckBing at 2007-7-7 13:37:07 >

> Cookies store settings on a per-machine basis. If you

> want to store user settings so they see their own

> preferred stuff whereever they log in store the

> preferences in some persistent storage on the server

> indexed on userid (and make them log in of course).

> XML files work if it's not a lot, a relational

> database (or object database if you want to be

> post-modern) is better.

Windows XP Pro maintains separate cookie stores by user. I don't think that normal processes (on XP Pro) will set cookies to other than the current user, but I could be wrong, having never tried. Bottom line, there isn't a machine level cookie store in XP Pro. I didn't check other OS's.

ChuckBing at 2007-7-7 13:37:07 >

> true. But that doesn't represent a user on the

> serverside.

> Many computers are used by more than one person under

> the same login, in which case those would all share

> the same options for the web application as set by

> the last one changing them from that terminal.

> On another terminal their settings would be

> different.

>

> By storing the information on the server they'd

> always get their own settings, not just when using

> their private machine but also when visiting

> elsewhere.

If all users work under one userid on the client computer (or the server ignores the client id), then the only way your approach works is to maintain a full user database on the server with each user's id, passwords, preferences, and validation routines, and require that every user log on for each access of the server. In most cases, a single session involves multiple server accesses during a transaction, which would be impossible to handle correctly.

This is not a good approach from both the security aspect - each user should be logging on to the client machine using their own userid - and the usability aspect.

I recommend against this approach.

ChuckBing at 2007-7-7 13:37:07 >