Adding Configuration Capabilities to an Application 

Use

You can use the Application Configuration API to add configuration capabilities to your application.

You can deploy a property file of an extended java.util.Properties format within your application archive, which is created as a property sheet underneath the application configuration subtree.

A property sheet is a configuration that allows the user to store properties as name-value pairs. It is a property file within the configuration tree structure. Additionally, it offers functions for storing a default and custom value for each property, which can be set and retrieved separately.

The deployed properties can be accessed by the application at runtime and also modified using the provided tools – Config Tool for offline and SAP NetWeaver Administrator for online modifications.

You can register a listener for cluster-wide notifications when properties have been changed during runtime.

For example, using these application properties, you can easily upgrade a software component without needing to recover any custom configurations that you have made before the upgrade procedure. If you manually set the properties of a software component after the installation, the changes are saved as custom values. During an upgrade procedure to a newer version of the software component, only the default values are overwritten. This means that all custom values of the user remain unchanged, while all default values that have not been altered by the user are updated.

Consequently, when reading a property, the property sheet first checks if a custom value has been set for this property and in that case, the custom value is returned, otherwise the default value is returned.

Procedure

The following procedures describe details about creating a property sheet within the deployment and managing the deployed properties of the application:

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       1.      Within your application, set a reference to the Application Configuration API.

More information: Connecting As an AS Java Application.

       2.      Deploy properties within an application.

More Information: Deploying Properties Within an Application.

       3.      Obtain the application properties.

More information: Accessing Application Properties.

       4.      Register a property change listener.

More information: Registering a Property Change Listener.

       5.      Use the AS Java administration tools to modify application properties.

More information: Modifying Application Properties.

       6.      Access the System Profile.

More information: Accessing the System Profile.