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

The getInstance() and getValues() do not always return the same object for hierarchical custom settings but for list custom settings they return the same values .

From the docs

getInstance() Returns a custom setting data set record for the current user. The fields returned in the custom setting record are merged based on the lowest level fields that are defined in the hierarchy.

getInstance() gets you the merged values for all hierarchy levels above and including its argument (so if the user with id myUserId has a null value for a field, getInstance(myUserId) can inherit a value from the user's profile or the org-wide defaults)

getValues() Returns the custom setting data set record for the specified user ID

 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 above confirms that both return same for list custom settings.

Answer 2

As the first comment on the question points out, getInstance() and getValues() do not always return the same object for hierarchical custom settings (although they do for list custom settings). The Rich Unger article linked there explains the difference well, but in brief:

• getInstance() gets you the merged values for all hierarchy levels above and including its argument (so if the user with id myUserId has a null value for a field, getInstance(myUserId) can inherit a value from the user's profile or the org-wide defaults)
• getValues() gets you the record as specified for its argument (so if the user with id myUserId has a null value for a field, getValues(userId) will always have a null value for the field)