Ok, how do common apps do this?

[Doyle Matt]

I'm about to do an app that actually saves it state. For example, my app has a
checkbutton in it, an supposing i enabled it and then closed the swing app, how will i make the app so that the next time it starts the checkbutton is still enabled or disabled depending on the last time i used it?

Is this where serialization takes place?

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

No, I wouldn't use serialization for this, I'd just use a Properties file. See the java.util.Properties class. Make up a property name like "doodad.checkbox.state" and set its value to "true" or "false" in the application's Properties object when you dismiss the dialog box. It's best to have a class whose job it is to wrap the Properties, and save it to disk whenever a value changes.

[Ilja Preuss]

You should also take a look at the Preferences API: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/guide/lang/preferences.html

[Doyle Matt]

Thanks guys!!