How do you structure config data in a database?

Question

What is people\'s prefered method of storing application configuration data in a database. From having done this in the past myself, I\'ve utilised two ways of doing it.

Answer 1

for settings that have no relation to any db tables, i'd probably go for the EAV approach if you need the db to work with the values. otherwise a serialized field value is good if it's really just a store for app code.

but what about a format for a single field to store multiple config settings to be used by the db?

like one field per user that contains all their settings related to their messageboard view (like default sort order, blocked topics, etc.), and maybe another with all their settings for their theme (like text color, bg color, etc.)