Use writer/reader for multiple fields - list

Question

The following is my constructor for a Student object. I will be using a list of student. I need to store the list so even if the program is turned off, I can still access all the contents. The only way I could think of was to use reader/writer and a text file.
1) Is there a more efficient way to store this information?
2) If not, how can I use reader/writer to store each field?
public Student(String firstName, String lastName, String gender, String
state, String school, String lit, String wakeUp, String sleep, String
social,String contactInfo, String country, String major) {
this.firstName = firstName;
this.lastName = lastName;
this.gender = gender;
this.state = state;
this.school = school;
this.lit = lit;
this.wakeUp = wakeUp;
this.sleep = sleep;
this.social = social;
this.contactInfo = contactInfo;
this.country = country;
this.major = major;
}

Answer 1

The possibilities are really project specific and subjective.
Some possibilities include:
CSV file which makes it easy for exporting to other programs and parsing data
Online server which allows access from any computer that has the
program and an internet connection
Text file which works for local devices that won't require many
additions
It really just depends on how you want to implement it and what method suits your needs best.
To use reader/writer to store your fields, you could use the accessor methods of each variable to store them line by line in your text file. Below is some sample code to get you started on writing to the file:
PrintWriter outputStream = null;
try {
outputStream = new PrintWriter(new FileOutputStream(FILE_LOCATION));
}
catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {
JOptionPane optionPane = new JOptionPane("Unable to write to file\n " + FILE_LOCATION, JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
JDialog dialog = optionPane.createDialog("Error!");
dialog.setAlwaysOnTop(true);
dialog.setVisible(true);
System.exit(0);
}
Iterator<YOUR_OBJECT> i = this.List.iterator();
YOUR_OBJECT temp = null;
while (i.hasNext()) {
temp = i.next();
if (temp instanceof YOUR_OBJECT) {
outputStream.println(temp.getAttribute());
}
}
outputStream.close();