Where to store game level data?

programming
1

Hello, I am a long time reader, first time poster.

I have been working on a tile based game. By tile based, I mean the level is composed of tile parts that are all the same size and fit together to make the level. Each level is stored in an array like this.


        public var lvlArray1:Array = new Array(
            1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,X,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
            1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
            1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
            1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
            1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1
        );

So a 1 becomes solid brick. A 2 becomes a ramp and the X is the hero etc.

At the moment this array is in the main AS file. My question is A) Where should I put this kind of information assuming I plan on having lots of levels. And B) if I put it externally, by what method should I retrieve it. Should I use XML for example, and if so, how would I best go about loading in an array of so many values.

I think whatever method I use, it would be best if the data can be laid out in a square, as above, for easier editing.

Cheers, I hope this all makes sense.