Using *.resx files to store string value pairs

Question

I have an application that requires mappings between string values, so essentially a container that can hold key values pairs. Instead of using a dictionary or a name-value collection I used a resource file that I access programmatically in my code. I understand resource files are used in localization scenarios for multi-language implementations and the likes. However I like their strongly typed nature which ensures that if the value is changed the application does not compile.

However I would like to know if there are any important cons of using a *.resx file for simple key-value pair storage instead of using a more traditional programmatic type.

Paweł Dyda Paweł Dyda · Accepted Answer · 2010-10-14T19:34:59

There are two cons which I can think of out of the blue:

it requires I/O operation to read key/value pair, which may result in significant performance decrease,
if you let standard .Net logic to resolve loading resources, it will always try to find the file corresponding to CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture property; this could be problematic if you decide that you actually want to have multiple resx-es (i.e. one per language); this could result in even further performance degradation.

BTW. Couldn't you just create helper class or structure containing properties, like that:

public static class GlobalConstants
{
    private const int _SomeInt = 42;
    private const string _SomeString = "Ultimate answer";

    public static int SomeInt
    {
        get
        {
            return _SomeInt;
        }
    }

    public static string SomeString
    {
        get
        {
            return _SomeString;
        }
    }
}

You can then access these properties exactly the same way, as resource files (I am assuming that you're used to this style):

textBox1.Text = GlobalConstants.SomeString;
textBox1.Top = GlobalConstants.SomeInt;

Maybe it is not the best thing to do, but I firmly believe this is still better than using resource file for that...

Using *.resx files to store string value pairs

1 Answers