public static char charFromProperties(Properties p,String propName,char defaultValue){
  char ret=defaultValue;
  String charString=p.getProperty(propName);
  if (charString != null && charString.length() > 0) {
    return charString.charAt(0);
  }
  return ret;
}

public static char charFromProperties ( Properties p , String propName , char defaultValue ) { char ret = defaultValue ; String charString = p . getProperty ( propName ) ; if ( charString != null && charString . length ( ) > 0 ) { return charString . charAt ( 0 ) ; } return ret ; }
return the first letter of the property specified by propname . if that value is null or has length of zero , the default char is returned .
