CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#textfile-iofilestream
tcables
tcables

Reputation: 1307

FileStream returning null characters every other character

I seem to be having some issues with a Filestream in C#. I am trying to read the last line from a VERY large text file, 10mb, that is generated by a MSI installer.

The code I am using is:

string path = @"C:\uninstall.log";
byte[] buffer = new byte[100];

using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    long len = fs.Length;

    fs.Seek(-100, SeekOrigin.End);

    fs.Read(buffer, 0, 100);
}

string foo = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer);
Console.WriteLine("\"" + foo + "\"");

But the output looks similar to this:

H E L L O   W O R L D ! ! ! B L A H   B L A H

Apparently the stream that is read contains a '\0' (null) character every other character. Does anyone know what is causing this?

Upvotes: 5

Views: 3582

Answers (3)

Jerry B
Jerry B

Reputation: 453

Sounds like the file is actually UTF-16 encoded. Change UTF-8 in your GetString().

Upvotes: 3

prprcupofcoffee
prprcupofcoffee

Reputation: 2970

Use Encoding.UnicodeEncoding instead. Your file is encoded in UTF-16, not UTF-8.

Upvotes: 8

Daniel Brückner
Daniel Brückner

Reputation: 59705

The file is probably a UTF-16 file, not a UTF-8 file. Just try using Encoding.Unicode instead of Encoding.UTF8.

Upvotes: 7

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