File Reference Help...Just need some direction

Hi Everyone,

I am building an AIR app for the desktop and possibly IOS devices. I would like for a user to import teacher class lists into the program, and be able to manipulate it and save the settings.

I would love for someone to put me on the right path. I was thinking they should import the class lists from a .csv file, and then using the file reference class, save it to a file, so that when the app is opened again it will automatically be there. Is that the best way to handle this data and process. I don’t want to do a local object because I heard that if you update the app, the info will be lost. Is this a pain to do in flash? should I be learning a new language. Beginner here, so any help is appreciated.

Thanks!
Josh