open resource with relative path in Java - java

In my Java app I need to get some files and directories.
This is the program structure:
./main.java
./package1/guiclass.java
./package1/resources/resourcesloader.java
./package1/resources/repository/modules/ -> this is the dir I need to get
./package1/resources/repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks -> this is the file I need to get
guiclass loads the resourcesloader class which will load my resources (directory and file).
As to the file, I tried
resourcesloader.class.getClass().getResource("repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks").toString()
in order to get the real path, but this way does not work.
I have no idea which path to use for the directory.

I had problems with using the getClass().getResource("filename.txt") method.
Upon reading the Java docs instructions, if your resource is not in the same package as the class you are trying to access the resource from, then you have to give it relative path starting with '/'. The recommended strategy is to put your resource files under a "resources" folder in the root directory. So for example if you have the structure:
src/main/com/mycompany/myapp
then you can add a resources folder as recommended by maven in:
src/main/resources
furthermore you can add subfolders in the resources folder
src/main/resources/textfiles
and say that your file is called myfile.txt so you have
src/main/resources/textfiles/myfile.txt
Now here is where the stupid path problem comes in. Say you have a class in your com.mycompany.myapp package, and you want to access the myfile.txt file from your resource folder. Some say you need to give the:
"/main/resources/textfiles/myfile.txt" path
or
"/resources/textfiles/myfile.txt"
both of these are wrong. After I ran mvn clean compile, the files and folders are copied in the:
myapp/target/classes
folder. But the resources folder is not there, just the folders in the resources folder. So you have:
myapp/target/classes/textfiles/myfile.txt
myapp/target/classes/com/mycompany/myapp/*
so the correct path to give to the getClass().getResource("") method is:
"/textfiles/myfile.txt"
here it is:
getClass().getResource("/textfiles/myfile.txt")
This will no longer return null, but will return your class.
It is strange to me, that the "resources" folder is not copied as well, but only the subfolders and files directly in the "resources" folder. It would seem logical to me that the "resources" folder would also be found under `"myapp/target/classes"

Supply the path relative to the classloader, not the class you're getting the loader from. For instance:
resourcesloader.class.getClassLoader().getResource("package1/resources/repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks").toString();

In the hopes of providing additional information for those who don't pick this up as quickly as others, I'd like to provide my scenario as it has a slightly different setup. My project was setup with the following directory structure (using Eclipse):
Project/
src/ // application source code
org/
myproject/
MyClass.java
test/ // unit tests
res/ // resources
images/ // PNG images for icons
my-image.png
xml/ // XSD files for validating XML files with JAXB
my-schema.xsd
conf/ // default .conf file for Log4j
log4j.conf
lib/ // libraries added to build-path via project settings
I was having issues loading my resources from the res directory. I wanted all my resources separate from my source code (simply for managment/organization purposes). So, what I had to do was add the res directory to the build-path and then access the resource via:
static final ClassLoader loader = MyClass.class.getClassLoader();
// in some function
loader.getResource("images/my-image.png");
loader.getResource("xml/my-schema.xsd");
loader.getResource("conf/log4j.conf");
NOTE: The / is omitted from the beginning of the resource string because I am using ClassLoader.getResource(String) instead of Class.getResource(String).

When you use 'getResource' on a Class, a relative path is resolved based on the package the Class is in. When you use 'getResource' on a ClassLoader, a relative path is resolved based on the root folder.
If you use an absolute path, both 'getResource' methods will start at the root folder.

#GianCarlo:
You can try calling System property user.dir that will give you root of your java project and then do append this path to your relative path for example:
String root = System.getProperty("user.dir");
String filepath = "/path/to/yourfile.txt"; // in case of Windows: "\\path \\to\\yourfile.txt
String abspath = root+filepath;
// using above path read your file into byte []
File file = new File(abspath);
FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(file);
byte []filebytes = new byte[(int)file.length()];
fis.read(filebytes);

For those using eclipse + maven. Say you try to access the file images/pic.jpg in src/main/resources. Doing it this way :
ClassLoader loader = MyClass.class.getClassLoader();
File file = new File(loader.getResource("images/pic.jpg").getFile());
is perfectly correct, but may result in a null pointer exception. Seems like eclipse doesn't recognize the folders in the maven directory structure as source folders right away. By removing and the src/main/resources folder from the project's source folders list and putting it back (project>properties>java build path> source>remove/add Folder), I was able to solve this.

resourcesloader.class.getClass()
Can be broken down to:
Class<resourcesloader> clazz = resourceloader.class;
Class<Class> classClass = clazz.getClass();
Which means you're trying to load the resource using a bootstrap class.
Instead you probably want something like:
resourcesloader.class.getResource("repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks").toString()
If only javac warned about calling static methods on non-static contexts...

Doe the following work?
resourcesloader.class.getClass().getResource("/package1/resources/repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks")
Is there a reason you can't specify the full path including the package?

Going with the two answers as mentioned above. The first one
resourcesloader.class.getClassLoader().getResource("package1/resources/repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks").toString();
resourcesloader.class.getResource("repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks").toString()
Should be one and same thing?

In Order to obtain real path to the file you can try this:
URL fileUrl = Resourceloader.class.getResource("resources/repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks");
String pathToClass = fileUrl.getPath;
Resourceloader is classname here.
"resources/repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks" is relative path to the file. If you had your guiclass in ./package1/java with rest of folder structure remaining, you would take "../resources/repository/SSL-Key/cert.jks" as relative path because of rules defining relative path.
This way you can read your file with BufferedReader. DO NOT USE THE STRING to identify the path to the file, because if you have spaces or some characters from not english alphabet in your path, you will get problems and the file will not be found.
BufferedReader bufferedReader = new BufferedReader(
new InputStreamReader(fileUrl.openStream()));

I made a small modification on #jonathan.cone's one liner ( by adding .getFile() ) to avoid null pointer exception, and setting the path to data directory. Here's what worked for me :
String realmID = new java.util.Scanner(new java.io.File(RandomDataGenerator.class.getClassLoader().getResource("data/aa-qa-id.csv").getFile().toString())).next();

Use this:
resourcesloader.class.getClassLoader().getResource("/path/to/file").**getPath();**

One of the stable way to work across all OS would be toget System.getProperty("user.dir")
String filePath = System.getProperty("user.dir") + "/path/to/file.extension";
Path path = Paths.get(filePath);
if (Files.exists(path)) {
return true;
}

Related

Trouble reading/writing file from relative path

I've been trying to read and write to a file under my resources directory in my project. However, regardless of what I seem to do it doesn't allow me to do so.
This is my project hierarchy for reference:
Out of all these:
Paths.get("memes.txt")
Paths.get("resources/memes.txt")
Paths.get("/resources/memes.txt")
...
None have worked. What am I doing wrong?
Is it a Maven project ?
Try this :
//Get file from resources folder
ClassLoader classLoader = getClass().getClassLoader();
File file = new File(classLoader.getResource(fileName).getFile());
Ref : https://www.mkyong.com/java/java-read-a-file-from-resources-folder/
Your application can be packed as .jar file - a zip format.
There, or in the built classes directory should be memes.txt. A so-called resource, and in case of a jar not really a file system file. But is located on the class path.
URL url = getClass().getResource("/memes.txt");
InputStream in = getClass().getResourceAsStream("/memes.txt");
The path is relative to the package directory of the class, or absolute as above.
Try it using "../resources/memes.txt" with ".." you go up one directory from your current file (i assume that you are using the code in SwearTest.java)

How can I get the filepath where my project is stored from inside the project?

I'm working on a project for school that needs to read from text files inside the project directory. I have it working but only because I have the filepath hardcoded to my computer.
i.e.
String path = "C:\\Users\\MyName\\workspace\\ProjectName\\"
If I sent it to my teacher, the filepath would result in an error.
Is there a way I can set the filepath to wherever the project is stored, from inside the project?
Just put the file name.
String path = "XPTO.txt"
This means your file is in the project root.
Resource files can be place relative to the class files in your project (in this manner, they can be packaged together with class files as a jar file). To access these from within your project, you can use Class.getResource() or Class.getResourceAsStream. For instance...
InputStream is = MyClass.class.getResourceAsStream('path/to/file');
Where 'path/to/file' is the path relative to where MyClass resides. Note the lack of a '/' at the beginning of this path - if it began with '/' it would be an absolute path relative to the highest package level of the project. Also note that one can use a relative file path to read a file external to the class package directory structure.
Just do WhateverNeedsAPath("Something") //path will be whereever/ProjectName/Something
This might help you also: How to define a relative path in java

Java get folder in same directory as Jar

Say I have an exported Jar file on my Desktop, and then a folder I want to access so my jar file can load files from it. How can I access that folder without hard coding the path?
See here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/6849255/514463
Pick one of your classes that you want the directory of, e.g.: Test:
String path = Test.class.getProtectionDomain().getCodeSource().getLocation().getPath();
String decodedPath = URLDecoder.decode(path, "UTF-8");
If I clearly understand, you may use relative path when you try to access folder. For example, if you run your jar as a standalone application, relative path "." will be a folder that contains your jar. So, when you place names.txt file next to your jar, you can get access to it with:
new File("./names.txt");
Hope I understood you right way and this will help.
The following code should provide the directory containing the JAR file:
URL url = getClass().getProtectionDomain().getCodeSource().getLocation();
File directory = new File(url.toURI()).getParentFile();
Hmmm...
I heard this question so often, and it always boils down to this: How to load resources at runtime?
The main reason for this type of question is, that one is developping an application and now wants to create a distributable package. This normally ends in something like that:
... / my-application-folder
| -- lib / *.jar
| -- main.jar
| -- config.properties
There could be several configuration files. A configuration for the application itself, a configuration for a logging framework that is used, etc. It does not matter. If you want to access such resources, you should do it in two steps:
1) Make sure all folders containing your resources (such configuration files are resources) are part of the classpath. If you run your JAR file (here main.jar) with a java -jar main.jar command, this JAR file should contain a manifest file containing the directory . and all needed library JARs in the class-path entry. [Alternative: Maybe all your config files are located in a config/ subfolder. Then this folder must be part of the class-path.]
2) Inside your application you access such resources with a class loader:
ClassLoader loader = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
URL url = loader.getResource(neededResource);
// do something with url, e.g. open stream, read from it, and close stream
If you have a user customizable path, there are several possibilities. You could for example pass a system property to the application, as Reddy suggested in his comment. You could also have a property in a configuration file, which you are loading in the beginning part of your application. However, you have the path to this customizable folder in hand (at runtime). Then you do the following:
String customizablePath = getCustomizablePath();
URL customizablePathURL = new File(customizablePath).toURI().toURL();
ClassLoader loader = new URLClassLoader(new URL[] {customizablePathURL});
Then you can continue like above.
File f = new File("Folder")
This File object points to "Folder" directory in the the working directory of the Jar.

FileNotFoundException in Netbeans

I have a java application project in Netbeans. I have just one class.
I try to do this
FileReader fr = new FileReader("sal.html");
I have the file sal.html under the same package. But I get this error when I run:
Errorjava.io.FileNotFoundException: sal.html (The system cannot find the file specified)
My guess is that Netbeans is invoking the JVM from your project's root folder. Quoting a portion of the File Javadoc:
By default the classes in the java.io package always resolve relative pathnames against the current user directory. This directory is named by the system property user.dir, and is typically the directory in which the Java virtual machine was invoked.
To verify relative path resolution you could try:
System.out.println(System.getProperty("user.dir"));
System.out.println(new File("sal.html").getAbsolutePath());
You could then move your file to wherever java is looking for it. Most probably your project's root folder.
You could also consider using the class loader to read files as resources inside packages using getClass().getResourceAsStream("sal.html");. This is the preferred way of accessing resources since you no longer have to worry about absolute vs. relative paths. If a resource is in your classpath, you can access it. See this answer for more.
Put your file to main project folder. Not to any sub folders like src, or bin etc. Then it will detect your file.
Click on file view in Netbeans. Move sal.html to the project folder. Such that you will see it like this
- JavaProject
+ build
+ lib
+ nbproject
+ src
+ build.xml
manifest.mf
sal.html
Now
FileReader fr = new FileReader("sal.html");
will work.
System.out.println(System.getProperty("user.dir"));
System.out.println(new File("sal.html").getAbsolutePath());
Then it will show where the JVM is retrieving the files from. Usually for linux in the /home/username/NetbeansProjects/ApplicationName/.
Put your resources or files to this path
I think your problem is in the relative path to the file. Try to declare FileReader with full path to file.
FileNotFoundException means file not found.
The build folder for the netbeans is different where there is no file sal.html.
Try using absolute path in place of using relative path.
This is not a "File not found" problem.
This is because each class hold its own resources (let it be file, image etc.) which can be accessed only through a resource loader statement which is as below:
InputStream in = this.getClass().getResourceAsStream("sal.html");
The only fix is that you will get an InputStream instead of a file.
Hope this helps.

How to specify relative file path in Java file so that it can still work after the file is put in jar file?

Suppose I have a Java class that needs to access a file with absolute path
/home/gem/projects/bar/resources/test.csv:
package com.example
class Foo {
String filePath = ????? // path to test.csv
String lines = FileInputStream(new File(filePath).readAllLines();
}
Where the path to Foo.java is /home/gem/projects/bar/src/com/example.
Of course I cannot specify absolute path to the resource file. This is because jar file will be distributed as library for any clients to use in their own environments.
Assume the resource file like test.csv is always in the same path relative to project root. When a jar is created containing Foo.class, this jar also contains test.csv in the same relative path ( relative to project root).
What is the way to specify relative path that would work no matter where the project bar is moved to? Also how can I create a jar file (which can be in any location) so that the path to the resource file test.csv would still be correct.
To keep things simple, I have used invalid Java API ( readAllLines() which reads all the lines and return a string containing entire file content. Also not using try/catch).
Assume csv file can be read as well as written to.
I hope this makes it clear now.
Put the test.csv file into the src folder and use this:
Foo.class.getResourceAsStream("/test.csv")
To get an InputStream for the file. This will work wherever the project is moved, including packaged as a JAR file.
Example:
ProjectX\src\Test.java
ProjectX\resources\config.properties
If you have the above structure and you want to use your config.properties file, this is how you do it:
InputStream input = new FileInputStream("./resources/config.projects");
In this example you don't have to worry about packaging your source into jar file. You can still modify your resources folder anytime.
Use getResource(), as shown here.

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