GetInstance vs GetValues (Custom Setting)

Question

Are GetInstance and GetValues methods of custom setting same? According to the documentation here http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/apexcode/Content/apex_methods_system_custom_settings.htm both seem to be same. What you guys think?

Answer 1

You are right both return same Object.I personally prefer the getInstance() method as it makes more sense to me. You access a record by using the value in the Name column (you cannot use the ID or other columns).

 Foundation_Countries__c myCS1 = Foundation_Countries__c.getValues('United States');
 String myCCVal = myCS1.Country_code__c;
 Foundation_Countries__c myCS2 = Foundation_Countries__c.getInstance('United States');
 String myCCInst = myCS2.Country_code__c;
 system.assertEquals(myCCinst, myCCVal);

The following confirms that both return same .