: : The simplest way is to store each customer in an array (or list) of
: : strings. Then make a method in your data object, which loops through
: : the array, splits it at the =-sign, and sets the fields based on the
: : name. Here's a short example:
: :

: : 
: :   public void readFileRecord(String[] dataFields) {
: :     String fieldName;
: :     String fieldValue;
: :     for (i = 0; i < dataFields.length; i++) {
: :       fieldName = dataFields[i].substring(0, dataFields[i].indexOf("=")-1);
: :       fieldValue = dataFields[i].substring(dataFields[i].indexOf("="));
: : 
: :       if (fieldName.equalsIgnoreCase("name")) 
: :         this.name = fieldValue;
: :       else if (fieldName.equalsIgnoreCase("doors")) 
: :         this.doors = Integer.parseInt(fieldValue);
: :       else ...
: :     }
: :   }
: : 

: :
: : You need to change this code to match the rest of your program.
:
: In the case of this example what would be in the 'dataFields'??? I
: was a little confused about how that might be intergrated in with my
: code.
:
: I am also finding that the 'this.name = fieldValue' wont work
: because the 'this' cannot be used in a static context.
:
:
: ----------
: ArcH
dataFields would hold the lines for 1 customer, 1 line per string. This method should be part of a class designed to hold the data 1 customer, as such it cannot be static.
Fuller example:

public class Customer {

	private String name;
	private int doors;

	public String getName() {
		return name;
	}

	public void setName(String name) {
		this.name = name;
	}
	
	public int getDoors() {
		return doors;
	}

	public void setDoors(int doors) {
		this.doors = doors;
	}

	public void readFileRecord(String[] dataFields) {
		String fieldName;
		String fieldValue;
		for (int i = 0; i < dataFields.length; i++) {
			fieldName = dataFields[i].substring(0, dataFields[i].indexOf("=")-1);
			fieldValue = dataFields[i].substring(dataFields[i].indexOf("=")
			);

			if (fieldName.equalsIgnoreCase("name")) 
				this.name = fieldValue;
			else if (fieldName.equalsIgnoreCase("doors")) 
				this.doors = Integer.parseInt(fieldValue);
			//else ...
		}
	}
}

To create and read a customer, you simply fill the dataFields with the lines read from the file. Here's what the fields and their values look like after loading:

  dataFields[0] = "note = \"not an easy man to see --- Des\"";
  dataFields[1] = "name = \"Eldon Tyrell\"";
  dataFields[2] = "address = \"c/o Tyrell Corporation, Tyrell Tower, London\"";
  etc..

You can then use a code like this to fill the customer:

  Customer customer = new Customer();
  customer.readFileRecord(dataFields);

Now you can use the various getter/setter methods of the Customer class to read or change the values.