Which file format should I use to save an array to a file?

Question

I am using the solution found here: Save NSArray to File and I am just wondering what type of file format I should save my array as. Can I just use .txt?

Answer 1

Any format. iOS writeToPath: does not read the extension. You can even make up weird file names.

Take the codes from your reference question as example,

NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *filePath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:FILE_NAME];

[myArray writeToFile:filePath atomically:YES];

the FILE_NAME could be in any ASCII values.

Answer 2

The writeToFile of an array object creates a property list file. So, while you can use whatever extension you want, it's generally good style to use the plist extension.