Im trying to write a program to read a text file through args but when i run it, it always says the file can't be found even though i placed it inside the same folder as the main.java that im running.
Does anyone know the solution to my problem or a better way of reading a text file?
Do not use relative paths in java.io.File.
It will become relative to the current working directory which is dependent on the way how you run the application which in turn is not controllable from inside your application. It will only lead to portability trouble. If you run it from inside Eclipse, the path will be relative to /path/to/eclipse/workspace/projectname. If you run it from inside command console, it will be relative to currently opened folder (even though when you run the code by absolute path!). If you run it by doubleclicking the JAR, it will be relative to the root folder of the JAR. If you run it in a webserver, it will be relative to the /path/to/webserver/binaries. Etcetera.
Always use absolute paths in java.io.File, no excuses.
For best portability and less headache with absolute paths, just place the file in a path covered by the runtime classpath (or add its path to the runtime classpath). This way you can get the file by Class#getResource() or its content by Class#getResourceAsStream(). If it's in the same folder (package) as your current class, then it's already in the classpath. To access it, just do:
public MyClass() {
URL url = getClass().getResource("filename.txt");
File file = new File(url.getPath());
InputStream input = new FileInputStream(file);
// ...
}
or
public MyClass() {
InputStream input = getClass().getResourceAsStream("filename.txt");
// ...
}
Try giving an absolute path to the filename.
Also, post the code so that we can see what exactly you're trying.
When you are opening a file with a relative file name in Java (and in general) it opens it relative to the working directory.
you can find the current working directory of your process using
String workindDir = new File(".").getAbsoultePath()
Make sure you are running your program from the correct directory (or change the file name so that it will be relative to where you are running it from).
If you're using Eclipse (or a similar IDE), the problem arises from the fact that your program is run from a few directories above where the actual source is located. Try moving your file up a level or two in the project tree.
Check out this question for more detail.
The simplest solution is to create a new file, then see where the output file is. That is the correct place to put your input file into.
If you put the file and the class working with it under same package can you use this:
Class A {
void readFile (String fileName) {
Url tmp = A.class.getResource (fileName);
// Or Url tmp = this.getClass().getResource (fileName);
File tmpFile = File (tmp);
if (tmpFile.exists())
System.out.print("I found the file.")
}
}
It will help if you read about classloaders.
say I have a text file input.txt which is located on the desktop
and input.txt has the following content
i came
i saw
i left
and below is the java code for reading that text file
public class ReadInputFromTextFile {
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
{
File file = new File(
"/Users/viveksingh/desktop/input.txt");
BufferedReader br
= new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file));
String st;
while ((st = br.readLine()) != null)
System.out.println(st);
}
}
output on the console:
i came
i saw
i left
Related
I have written a project where some images are used for the application's appearance and some text files will get created and deleted along the process. I only used the absolute path of all used files in order to see how the project would work, and now that it is finished I want to send it to someone else. so what I'm asking for is that how I can link those files to the project so that the other person doesn't have to set those absolute paths relative to their computer. something like, turning the final jar file with necessary files into a zip file and then that the person extracts the zip file and imports jar file, when runs it, the program work without any problems.
by the way, I add the images using ImageIcon class.
I'm using eclipse.
For files that you just want to read, such as images used in your app's icons:
Ship them the same way you ship your class files: In your jar or jmod file.
Use YourClassName.class.getResource or .getResourceAsStream to read these. They are not files, any APIs that need a File object can't work. Don't use those APIs (they are bad) - good APIs take a URI, URL, or InputStream, which works fine with this.
Example:
package com.foo;
public class MyMainApp {
public void example() {
Image image = new Image(MyMainApp.class.getResource("img/send.png");
}
public void example2() throws IOException {
try (var raw = MyMainApp.class.getResourceAsStream("/data/countries.txt")) {
BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(
new InputStreamReader(raw, StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
for (String line = in.readLine(); line != null; line = in.readLine()) {
// do something with each country
}
}
}
}
This class file will end up in your jar as /com/foo/MyMainApp.class. That same jar file should also contain /com/foo/img/send.png and /data/countries.txt. (Note how starting the string argument you pass to getResource(AsStream) can start with a slash or not, which controls whether it's relative to the location of the class or to the root of the jar. Your choice as to what you find nicer).
For files that your app will create / update:
This shouldn't be anywhere near where your jar file is. That's late 80s/silly windows thinking. Applications are (or should be!) in places that you that that app cannot write to. In general the installation directory of an application is a read-only affair, and most certainly should not be containing a user's documents. These should be in the 'user home' or possibly in e.g. `My Documents'.
Example:
public void save() throws IOException {
Path p = Paths.get(System.getProperty("user.home"), "navids-app.save");
// save to that file.
}
I need to read a .txt file of integers into a 2d array but when I try to read in the file I get a runetime error saying that the specified file cannot be found. This is the first time I've tried to read in a file so I just need direction on how to do it but I couldn't find an answer this basic.
I have the file of integers named "num1.txt" saved in the same folder as as my java file, so I'm wondering if I don't understand how eclipse and java decide where the file is.
public static void main(String[] args) throws FileNotFoundException
{
int i;
int j;
i=0;
j=0;
int connect4Array[][] = new int[6][7];
Scanner readFile = new Scanner(new File("num1.txt"));
while(readFile.hasNextInt())
{
for(i=0;i<connect4Array.length;i++)
{
connect4Array[i++][j]=readFile.nextInt();
for(j=0;j<connect4Array[j].length;j++)
{
connect4Array[i][j++]=readFile.nextInt();
}
}
}
First of all, it is NOT a compilation error. It is a runtime error. You need to learn the difference ... and to say the right thing, or else people won't understand what you are talking about.
I have the file of integers named "num1.txt" saved in the same folder as as my java file.
The problem is that you are trying to access the file in the running application's current directory ... but the current directory is not the place that you think / hope it is.
So where is the application's current directory? It depends on how you ran the application!
If you run the java app from a shell, then the current directory will default to the shell's current directory.
You can change it by cd-ing before you run java ... and I think you can also specify it using -Duser.dir=<pathname>.
If you run the java app from Eclipse, then the current directory will default to the project directory. That is probably different to the directory containing the source code.
You can specify a different current directory in the Eclipse settings for your application's launcher.
Alternatively, use an absolute path for the file, or put it into your application's JAR file and read it as a "resource".
move the file to where the src folder located.
because the default is project directory in your workspace.
you can use getProperty to check current directory.
String CurrentDir = System.getProperty("user.dir");
System.out.println("Current working directory : " + CurrentDir);
I am trying to read a file in Java. I wrote a program and saved the file in the exact same folder as my program. Yet, I keep getting a FileNotFoundException. Here is the code:
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
Hashtable<String, Integer> ht = new Hashtable<String, Integer>();
File f = new File("file.txt");
ArrayList<String> al = readFile(f, ht);
}
public static ArrayList<String> readFile(File f, Hashtable<String, Integer> ht) throws IOException{
ArrayList<String> al = new ArrayList<String>();
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(f));
String line = "";
int ctr = 0;
}
...
return al;
}
Here is the stack trace:
Exception in thread "main" java.io.FileNotFoundException: file.txt (The system cannot find the file specified)
at java.io.FileInputStream.open(Native Method)
at java.io.FileInputStream.<init>(Unknown Source)
at java.io.FileReader.<init>(Unknown Source)
at csfhomework3.ScramAssembler.readFile(ScramAssembler.java:26)
at csfhomework3.ScramAssembler.main(ScramAssembler.java:17)
I don't understand how the file can't be found if it's in the exact same folder as the program. I'm running the program in eclipse and I checked my run configurations for any stray arguments and there are none. Does anyone see what's wrong?
Because the File isn't where you think it is. Print the path that your program is attempting to read.
File f = new File("file.txt");
try {
System.out.println(f.getCanonicalPath());
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
Per the File.getCanonicalPath() javadoc, A canonical pathname is both absolute and unique. The precise definition of canonical form is system-dependent.
Check the Eclipse run configuration. Look on the second tab "Arguments", at the bottom pane where it says "Working Directory". That's the place where the program gets launched and where it will expect to find the file. Usually in Eclipse it launches your program with the current working directory set to be the base project directory. If you have the java class file in a source folder and are using proper package (e.g., "com.mycompany.package"), then the data file will be in a directory like "src/com/mycompany/package" which is quite a different directory from the project directory.
HTH
File needs to be in the class path and not in the source path. Copy the file in output/class files folder and it should be available.
You should probably check out this question: Java can't find file when running through Eclipse
Basically you need to be sure where the execution is taking place (current directory) and how your SO will resolve the relative paths. Try changing the working directory in Eclipse' Run Configurations>Arguments or provide the absolute filename
I'm extremely late to responding to this question, but I see that this is still an extremely hot topic to this day. It may not seem obvious, but what you want to use here is actually the newer file-handling i/o library, java.nio. The below explained example shows how to read a String from a file path, but I encourage you to take a look at the docs if you have a different use.
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Files;
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
Path path = Path.of("app/src/main/java/pkgname/file.txt");
String content = Files.readString(path);
System.out.println(content); // Prints file content
}
Okay, code done, now time for the explanation. I'll start off with the import statements. java.io.IOException is necessary for some exception-handling. (Sidenote: Do not omit the throws IOException and/or the IOException import. Otherwise Files.readString() may throw an error in your editor, which I'll get to shortly). The Path class import is necessary to actually get the file, and the Files class import is necessary for file operations.
Now, the main function itself. The first line receives a Path object representing a file for you to actually read/write. Here the question of path name arises, which is the basis of the question. I have seen other solutions that tell you to take the absolute path of your file, but don't do that! It's extremely bad practice, especially with open-source or public code. Path.of actually allows you to use the path relative to your root folder (unless it isn't in a directory, simply inputting the file name does not work, I'm afraid). The example path name I gave is an example of a Gradle project. Next line, we get the content of the file as a String using a method from Files. Again, if you have a different use for a file, you can check the docs (a different method from the Files class will probably work for you). On the final line, we print the result. Hooray! Our output is just what we needed.
There you have it, using Path instead of File is the solution to this annoying bug. Hopefully this helps!
I have a class,in which ther is a func,which opens a properties file. When i write main in the same class & call that function,i am able to open the properties file n read. but, when i am tying to call the same func in my servlet by creating instance to that class, i get file not found exception.
This is the function, which i have written in my class to read properties file. And both my class and servlet are in src folder. I am using eclipse IDE.
Code:
private void readPropertiesFileAndFieldListData() {
String PROP_FILE = "./src/fields.properties";
try {
FileReader reader = new FileReader(PROP_FILE);
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(reader);
ArrayList<String> field = new ArrayList<String>();
while ((str = br.readLine()) != null) {
if (!str.startsWith("#") && str.trim().length() > 0) {
// System.out.println(str);
field.add(str);
count++;
}
}
}
You're relying on the current working directory of the disk file system path. The current working directory is dependent on how the application is started and is not controllable from inside your application. Relying on it is a very bad idea.
The normal practice is to put that file in the classpath or to add its path to the classpath. Your file is apparently already in the classpath (you placed it in the src folder), so you don't need to change anything else. You should should just get it from the classpath by the class loader. That's more portable than a disk file system path can ever be.
ClassLoader classLoader = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
InputStream input = classLoader.getResourceAsStream("fields.properties");
// ...
See also:
getResourceAsStream() vs FileInputStream
Unrelated to the concrete problem, you're basically reinventing the java.util.Properties class. Don't do that. Use the following construct:
ClassLoader classLoader = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
InputStream input = classLoader.getResourceAsStream("fields.properties");
Properties properties = new Properties();
properties.load(input);
// ...
PLease write a small test, for printing the file path of "PROP_FILE" to the log or console.
it seems, that you relativ path is incorrect.
Your relative path starting point can change, depending on where your *.exe file is started.
Your test should print
File tFile = new File(PROP_FILE);
// print tFile.getAbsolutePath()
Its better to get a special class by calling
SomeClass.class.getResource(name)
Eclipse RCP from the Bundle
Bundle.getResource(ResourcePathString)
EDIT:
Please check, whether the resource is part of your *.jar. It could be, that you missed to add it to the build.properties file.
Check whether the file is existing, before you read the properties file.
How can I change the current working directory from within a Java program? Everything I've been able to find about the issue claims that you simply can't do it, but I can't believe that that's really the case.
I have a piece of code that opens a file using a hard-coded relative file path from the directory it's normally started in, and I just want to be able to use that code from within a different Java program without having to start it from within a particular directory. It seems like you should just be able to call System.setProperty( "user.dir", "/path/to/dir" ), but as far as I can figure out, calling that line just silently fails and does nothing.
I would understand if Java didn't allow you to do this, if it weren't for the fact that it allows you to get the current working directory, and even allows you to open files using relative file paths....
There is no reliable way to do this in pure Java. Setting the user.dir property via System.setProperty() or java -Duser.dir=... does seem to affect subsequent creations of Files, but not e.g. FileOutputStreams.
The File(String parent, String child) constructor can help if you build up your directory path separately from your file path, allowing easier swapping.
An alternative is to set up a script to run Java from a different directory, or use JNI native code as suggested below.
The relevant OpenJDK bug was closed in 2008 as "will not fix".
If you run your legacy program with ProcessBuilder, you will be able to specify its working directory.
There is a way to do this using the system property "user.dir". The key part to understand is that getAbsoluteFile() must be called (as shown below) or else relative paths will be resolved against the default "user.dir" value.
import java.io.*;
public class FileUtils
{
public static boolean setCurrentDirectory(String directory_name)
{
boolean result = false; // Boolean indicating whether directory was set
File directory; // Desired current working directory
directory = new File(directory_name).getAbsoluteFile();
if (directory.exists() || directory.mkdirs())
{
result = (System.setProperty("user.dir", directory.getAbsolutePath()) != null);
}
return result;
}
public static PrintWriter openOutputFile(String file_name)
{
PrintWriter output = null; // File to open for writing
try
{
output = new PrintWriter(new File(file_name).getAbsoluteFile());
}
catch (Exception exception) {}
return output;
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
{
FileUtils.openOutputFile("DefaultDirectoryFile.txt");
FileUtils.setCurrentDirectory("NewCurrentDirectory");
FileUtils.openOutputFile("CurrentDirectoryFile.txt");
}
}
It is possible to change the PWD, using JNA/JNI to make calls to libc. The JRuby guys have a handy java library for making POSIX calls called jnr-posix. Here's the maven info
As mentioned you can't change the CWD of the JVM but if you were to launch another process using Runtime.exec() you can use the overloaded method that lets you specify the working directory. This is not really for running your Java program in another directory but for many cases when one needs to launch another program like a Perl script for example, you can specify the working directory of that script while leaving the working dir of the JVM unchanged.
See Runtime.exec javadocs
Specifically,
public Process exec(String[] cmdarray,String[] envp, File dir) throws IOException
where dir is the working directory to run the subprocess in
If I understand correctly, a Java program starts with a copy of the current environment variables. Any changes via System.setProperty(String, String) are modifying the copy, not the original environment variables. Not that this provides a thorough reason as to why Sun chose this behavior, but perhaps it sheds a little light...
The working directory is a operating system feature (set when the process starts).
Why don't you just pass your own System property (-Dsomeprop=/my/path) and use that in your code as the parent of your File:
File f = new File ( System.getProperty("someprop"), myFilename)
The smarter/easier thing to do here is to just change your code so that instead of opening the file assuming that it exists in the current working directory (I assume you are doing something like new File("blah.txt"), just build the path to the file yourself.
Let the user pass in the base directory, read it from a config file, fall back to user.dir if the other properties can't be found, etc. But it's a whole lot easier to improve the logic in your program than it is to change how environment variables work.
I have tried to invoke
String oldDir = System.setProperty("user.dir", currdir.getAbsolutePath());
It seems to work. But
File myFile = new File("localpath.ext");
InputStream openit = new FileInputStream(myFile);
throws a FileNotFoundException though
myFile.getAbsolutePath()
shows the correct path.
I have read this. I think the problem is:
Java knows the current directory with the new setting.
But the file handling is done by the operation system. It does not know the new set current directory, unfortunately.
The solution may be:
File myFile = new File(System.getPropety("user.dir"), "localpath.ext");
It creates a file Object as absolute one with the current directory which is known by the JVM. But that code should be existing in a used class, it needs changing of reused codes.
~~~~JcHartmut
You can use
new File("relative/path").getAbsoluteFile()
after
System.setProperty("user.dir", "/some/directory")
System.setProperty("user.dir", "C:/OtherProject");
File file = new File("data/data.csv").getAbsoluteFile();
System.out.println(file.getPath());
Will print
C:\OtherProject\data\data.csv
You can change the process's actual working directory using JNI or JNA.
With JNI, you can use native functions to set the directory. The POSIX method is chdir(). On Windows, you can use SetCurrentDirectory().
With JNA, you can wrap the native functions in Java binders.
For Windows:
private static interface MyKernel32 extends Library {
public MyKernel32 INSTANCE = (MyKernel32) Native.loadLibrary("Kernel32", MyKernel32.class);
/** BOOL SetCurrentDirectory( LPCTSTR lpPathName ); */
int SetCurrentDirectoryW(char[] pathName);
}
For POSIX systems:
private interface MyCLibrary extends Library {
MyCLibrary INSTANCE = (MyCLibrary) Native.loadLibrary("c", MyCLibrary.class);
/** int chdir(const char *path); */
int chdir( String path );
}
The other possible answer to this question may depend on the reason you are opening the file. Is this a property file or a file that has some configuration related to your application?
If this is the case you may consider trying to load the file through the classpath loader, this way you can load any file Java has access to.
If you run your commands in a shell you can write something like "java -cp" and add any directories you want separated by ":" if java doesnt find something in one directory it will go try and find them in the other directories, that is what I do.
Use FileSystemView
private FileSystemView fileSystemView;
fileSystemView = FileSystemView.getFileSystemView();
currentDirectory = new File(".");
//listing currentDirectory
File[] filesAndDirs = fileSystemView.getFiles(currentDirectory, false);
fileList = new ArrayList<File>();
dirList = new ArrayList<File>();
for (File file : filesAndDirs) {
if (file.isDirectory())
dirList.add(file);
else
fileList.add(file);
}
Collections.sort(dirList);
if (!fileSystemView.isFileSystemRoot(currentDirectory))
dirList.add(0, new File(".."));
Collections.sort(fileList);
//change
currentDirectory = fileSystemView.getParentDirectory(currentDirectory);