CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javafilenetbeansfile-iopath
phadaphunk
phadaphunk

Reputation: 13273

Correct way of accessing a file with name

Ok I need someone to clear things up for me.
I saw a hundred different ways of accessing a file to read in it (FileReader).

I tried all of them and can't find a way to do it correctly.

If I try : 

String path = Engine.class.getResource("Words.txt").toString();

or

URL url = getClass().getResource("Words.txt");
String path = url.getFile();
File myFile = new File(path);

I go directly to : 

dispatchUncaughtException

I just don't know where to look anymore since no one seems to agree on the good way to do it. Also, what is that kind of exception ?
There must be an easy way to do this since it is such an easy task. I just want my program to see my Words.txt file that is in the SRC folder of my project.

Full code if it helps :

public String GetWord()
{
 String [] Words = new String [10];
 int random = (int)(Math.random() * 10);
 URL url = getClass().getResource("Words.txt");
 String path = url.getFile();
 File myFile = new File(path);

  try 
  {
       FileReader myReader = new FileReader(myFile);
       BufferedReader textReader = new BufferedReader(myReader);

        for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
        {
           Words[i] = textReader.readLine();
        }
   } 
  catch(Exception e) 
  { 
        System.out.println(e.getMessage());
  }

  return Words[random];
  }

Upvotes: 0

Views: 106

Answers (2)

imwill
imwill

Reputation: 598

If you use Java 7 I recommend using newBufferedReader. It's more efficient and easier to use than the BufferedReader. I also modified your code to match the Java Code Conventions.

Working exmaple:

public String getWord() {
    String[] words = new String[10];
    int random = (int) (Math.random() * 10);
    Path path = Paths.get("src" + System.getProperty("file.separator")
            + "Words.txt");

    try {
        BufferedReader textReader = Files.newBufferedReader(path,
                StandardCharsets.UTF_8);

        for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
            words[i] = textReader.readLine();
        }
    } catch (Exception e) {
        System.out.println(e.getMessage());
    }

    return words[random];
}

Upvotes: 1

Bhesh Gurung
Bhesh Gurung

Reputation: 51030

String path = Engine.class.getResource("Words.txt").toString();

For that to work, your file has to be in the same package as the Engine class. So, you probably want to move your file to the package where the class is at.

If you want to move the file into some other package then you need to specify the location starting from the root of the classpath. e.g. /some/other/pkg/Words.txt.

For a file which is not in the classpath, you need the full path along with the file name, to be able to read the file. The SRC folder itself is not a package and not in the classpath.

In that case, you can do something as follows:

FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream("C:\\path\\to\\file\\Words.txt");
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(fis));

Upvotes: 3

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