What is the best way to serialize Delphi applicati

Question

I will answer this question myself, but feel free to provide your answers if you are faster than me or if you don't like my solution. I just came up with this idea and would like to have some opinions on that.

Goal: a configuration class that is readable (like an INI-file) but without having to write (and adapt after a new configuration item has been added) the load and save methods.

I want to create a class like

TMyConfiguration = class (TConfiguration)
  ...
  property ShowFlags : Boolean read FShowFlags write FShowFlags;
  property NumFlags : Integer read FNumFlags write FNumFlags;
end;

Calling TMyConfiguration.Save (inherited from TConfiguration) should create a file like

[Options]
ShowFlags=1
NumFlags=42

Question: What is the best way to do this?

Answer 1

Nicks answer (using Java Properties) has a point: this simple way to read and pass configuration around between parts of the application does not introduce dependencies on a special configuration class. A simple key/value list can reduce the dependencies between application modules and make code reuse easier.

In Delphi, a simple TStrings-based configuration is an easy way to implement a configuration. Example:

mail.smtp.host=192.168.10.8    
mail.smtp.user=joe    
mail.smtp.pass=*******