The current macOS implementation of preferences is appalling design in every respect, and is essentially undocumented even for developers. Is this the way that macOS is heading?
preferences
Want to perform a quick scan for base stations, change Airport preferences, or check your Airport interface? Here’s the tool to do it.
Have you ever tried removing or editing a preference file, to no effect? This explains why that happens, and how to get changes to work properly.
Problems with preference files can easily crash an app, even when the file looks fine, and its permissions are correct. Here’s why and how.
Having problems with preference files? Here’s a step by step guide to solving them, including a new version of PermissionScanner.
Repairing permissions on your Home folder is a blunt tool which could cause more problems. This tool looks through for potential problems, letting you fix them one file at a time.
Why we can’t repair system permissions, and some pitfalls and promise in the new technique of repairing permissions on the Home folder.
Information for anyone reading articles about Macs here, and an introduction to dealing with their problems.
Using preference files comes with remarkably little effort when writing them in Swift and Xcode.
These have changed little since El Capitan.
The Eclectic Light Company 