File handling create a File
To create a file in Java, the createNewFile() method is used. This method returns a boolean value true if the file was successfully created, and false if the file already exists. The method is enclosed in a try…catch block. This is necessary because it throws an IOException if an error occurs :
Example
import java.io.File; // Import the File class
import java.io.IOException; // Import the IOException class to handle errors
public class CreateFile {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
File myObj = new File("filename.txt");
if (myObj.createNewFile()) {
System.out.println("File created: " + myObj.getName());
} else {
System.out.println("File already exists.");
}
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("An error occurred.");
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
The output will be:
File created: filename.txt
To create a file in a specific directory (requires permission), specify the path of the file and use double backslashes to escape the “\” character (for Windows). On Mac and Linux you can just write the path, like: /Users/name/filename.txt
Example
File myObj = new File(“C:\\Users\\MyName\\filename.txt”);
Write To a File
In the following example, FileWriter class together with its write() method to write some text to the file created in the example above. Note that when done writing to the file, should close it with the close() method:
Example
import java.io.FileWriter; // Import the FileWriter class
import java.io.IOException; // Import the IOException class to handle errors
public class WriteToFile {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
FileWriter myWriter = new FileWriter("filename.txt");
myWriter.write("Files in Java might be tricky, but it is fun enough!");
myWriter.close();
System.out.println("Successfully wrote to the file.");
System.out.println("An error occurred.");} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
The output will be:
Successfully wrote to the file.
Read a File
In the following example, the Scanner class to read the contents of the text file created in the previous chapter:
Example
import java.io.File; // Import the File class
import java.io.FileNotFoundException; // Import this class to handle errors
import java.util.Scanner; // Import the Scanner class to read text files
public class ReadFile {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
File myObj = new File("filename.txt");
Scanner myReader = new Scanner(myObj);
while (myReader.hasNextLine()) {
String data = myReader.nextLine();
System.out.println(data);
}
myReader.close();
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
System.out.println("An error occurred.");
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
The output will be:
Files in Java might be tricky, but it is fun enough!
Get File Information
To get more information about a file, use any of the File methods:
Example
import java.io.File; // Import the File class
public class GetFileInfo {
public static void main(String[] args) {
File myObj = new File("filename.txt");
if (myObj.exists()) {
System.out.println("File name: " + myObj.getName());
System.out.println("Absolute path: " + myObj.getAbsolutePath());
System.out.println("Writeable: " + myObj.canWrite());
System.out.println("Readable " + myObj.canRead());
System.out.println("File size in bytes " + myObj.length());
} else {
System.out.println("The file does not exist.");
}
}
}
The output will be:
File name: filename.txt
Absolute path: C:\Users\MyName\filename.txt
Writeable: true
Readable: true
File size in bytes: 0
Delete a File
To delete a file in Java, use the delete() method:
Example
import java.io.File; // Import the File class
public class DeleteFile {
public static void main(String[] args) {
File myObj = new File("filename.txt");
if (myObj.delete()) {
System.out.println("Deleted the file: " + myObj.getName());
} else {
System.out.println("Failed to delete the file.");
}
}
}
The output will be:
Deleted the file: filename.txt
Delete a Folder
You can also delete a folder. However, it must be empty:
Example
import java.io.File;
public class DeleteFolder {
public static void main(String[] args) {
File myObj = new File("C:\\Users\\MyName\\Test");
if (myObj.delete()) {
System.out.println("Deleted the folder: " + myObj.getName());
} else {
System.out.println("Failed to delete the folder.");
}
}
}
The output will be:
Deleted the folder: Test