Use Of Xml Properties File For One Key - Multiple Value Mapping - should I use some other Class?

[Vyoma 0]

Here is a situation I have encountered. I know I can write a custom code to get the job done, but I was wondering if the java.util.Properties class (or something else) had this inbuilt and I was missing it in the documentation.

 

Situation: Need to load from a file, a set of values (mutliple values) for an associated single key.

 

To illustrate, here is an example:

propfile.properties

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE properties SYSTEM "http://java.sun.com/dtd/properties.dtd"><properties>	<entry key="fooA">barA1</entry>	<entry key="fooA">barA2</entry>		<entry key="fooB">barB1</entry></properties>

The fooB=barB1 is a trivial case in implementing using the Properties class. But what about the multiple case - fooA=[barA1,barA2] ? How do I get them into a HashMap or something?

 

Here is a independent code snippet that shows my attempt. It shows the trivial case without any problem.

PropPlay.java

import java.util.Properties;import java.io.FileInputStream;public class PropPlay {	/**	 * @param args	 */	public static void main(String[] args) {		System.out.println(" --------------------------------------- ");		System.out.println(" - This is a Java Properties file test - ");		System.out.println(" --------------------------------------- \n");				try {		System.out.println("Loading cfg/propfile.properties");		FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream("cfg/propfile.properties");		System.out.println("...loaded.\n");				System.out.println("Loading to internal Properties object");		Properties prop = new Properties();		prop.loadFromXML(fis);		System.out.println("...loaded.\n");				System.out.println("Here are the properties:");		prop.list(System.out);				System.out.println("\nGetting properties for fooA: ");		System.out.println(prop.getProperty("fooA"));				} catch (Exception e) {			e.printStackTrace();			System.out.println("Bailing out!!");		}	}}

Output:

---------------------------------------  - This is a Java Properties file test -  --------------------------------------- Loading cfg/propfile.properties...loaded.Loading to internal Properties object...loaded.Here are the properties:-- listing properties --fooA=barA2fooB=barB1Getting properties for fooA: barA2

The one key - multiple values obviously does not work as intended. Any idea how I can get it into a HashMap or some object like that?
Edited May 12, 2008 by Vyoma (see edit history)