A property list is a list of key-value pairs used to describe attributes of a program or object. They can be saved to a file using XML, and are human-readable and platform independent. Property lists are used in data serialization and some operating systems have built-in support for editing them. A document type definition (DTD) can define the structure and arguments of a property list.
A property list in computer programming is a list of key-value pairs that describe specific attributes of a program or object. A key-value pair consists of a key or the name of the attribute that you refer to reference and a value for that attribute. Property lists can be used to save objects to a file during the serialization process or they can be used to store information such as user preferences. They are usually human-readable and therefore may be platform independent.
In modern computing, a list of properties that will be written to a file usually uses extensible markup language (XML) to define the keys and values. XML is human-readable text that can also be read by any program, allowing the property list file to be moved between operating systems. Using XML has the added benefit of being supported by several programming libraries, making it easier to read the list from a stream.
During data serialization, a property list is generated that contains key-value pairs that represent all the state information in a given data object. The key refers to the name of the field to be serialized and value is the actual state information that is saved. Using mechanisms such as reflection, the property list can be read and the fields assigned appropriately to a new instance of the dell class ‘object.
Some operating systems and computer languages have made property lists an integral part of their operating structure, these programs have taken the standard XML format of a property list and created proprietary implementations that allow the system to optimize reading and writing of the lists. While these are still property lists, they are not portable to other systems or programs unless specifically designed to read the modified format.
A property list is valuable in some applications because it is human readable. This has led to the development of specific programs that are used to edit property lists in a way that maintains the structure and makes it easier for the user of the property. computer. Some operating systems even have built-in support for editing and creating property lists.
The structure and arguments of a property list created with XML can be defined with a block of code known as a document type definition (DTD). A DTD can assist a program that is writing or reading a property list by defining valid keys that can be used and the allowed ranges of assigned values. This means that key-value pairs can be checked for correct syntax and errors can be detected at write or read time before any bad data has a chance to cause problems in a running program.
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