Topics

0 Stream
0 File I/O
0 Byte stream
0 Character Stream
0 Buffered Stream

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 2

 Input/Output Basics
0 Input/Output = I/O = communication between
a computer program and external sources and
destinations of information
0 Involves Reading and Writing
0 Reading input from a source
0 Writing output to a destination
0 Example Sources and Destinations:
0 Files
0 Network connections
0 Other programs Ch-2 Advanced Programming 3
 Understanding Streams
0 A stream 'is' a sequence of bytes
0 When writing data to a stream, the stream is called an
output stream.
0 When reading data from a stream, the stream is called an
input stream.
0 If a stream has a buffer in memory, it is a buffered stream.
0 Binary Streams contain binary data.
0 Character Streams have character data and are used for
storing and retrieving text
Class Description
InputStream The base class for byte stream input operations.
OutputStream The base class for byte stream output operations.
BufferedInputStream Buffers input from another stream in memory to make the read
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 4
operations more efficient.
 Understanding Streams(cont)
0 Java uses an I/O system called streams (pioneered in C++)
0 Java provides java.io package to implement streams
0 Streams treat all external source and destinations of data
the same way: as "streams" of information
0 A stream is a sequence of data of undetermined length.
There's no definite end to it.
0 In Java a stream is composed of discrete bytes. The bytes
may represent chars or other kinds of data. They may
come faster than you can handle them, or your thread may
block while waiting for the next one to arrive.
0 The key to processing the stream is a while loop that
processes each piece of data, until you encounter the end-
of-stream character or some other exceptional condition
occurs.
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 5
 Input vs. Output Streams

0 Reading from an Input Stream

0 Writing to an Output Stream

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 6

 Byte vs. Character Streams
0 All data and programs are ultimately just zeros and ones
0 each digit can have one of two values, hence binary
0 bit is one binary digit
0 byte is a group of eight bits
0 Text files: the bits represent printable characters
0 one byte per character for ASCII, the most common code
0 for example, Java source files are text files
0 so is any file created with a "text editor"
0 Binary files: the bits represent other types of encoded information,
such as executable instructions or numeric data
0 these files are easily read by the computer but not humans
0 they are not "printable" files
0 actually, you can print them, but they will be unintelligible
0 "printable" means "easily readable by humans when printed"
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 7
 Byte vs. Character Streams
0 Byte Streams are used to read and write data
in binary format (1's and 0's)
example data: images, sounds, executable
programs, word-processing documents, etc.

0 Character Streams are used to read and write

data in text format (characters)
example data: plain text files (txt extension), web
pages, user keyboard input, etc.
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 8
 Java Classes

0 Package java.io offers classes to connect to

streams

0 To connect to a stream, instantiate a subclass of

one of these abstract superclasses:

input output
byte InputStream OutputStream
character Reader Writer
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 9
Java: Text Versus Binary Files
0 Text files are more readable by humans
0 Binary files are more efficient
0 computers read and write binary files more easily than text
0 Java binary files are portable
0 they can be used by Java on different machines
0 Reading and writing binary files is normally done by a program
0 text files are used only to communicate with humans

Java Text Files Java Binary Files

• Source files • Executable files (created by
• Occasionally input files compiling source files)
• Occasionally output files • Usually input files
• Usually output files
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 10
 Text Files vs. Binary Files
0 Number: 127 (decimal)
0 Text file
0 Three bytes: “1”, “2”, “7”
0 ASCII (decimal): 49, 50, 55
0 ASCII (octal): 61, 62, 67
0 ASCII (binary): 00110001, 00110010, 00110111
0 Binary file:
0 One byte (byte): 01111110
0 Two bytes (short): 00000000 01111110
0 Four bytes (int): 00000000 00000000 00000000
01111110

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 11

 Text File I/O
0 Important classes for text file output (to the file)
0 PrintWriter
0 FileOutputStream [or FileWriter]
0 Important classes for text file input (from the file):
0 BufferedReader
0 FileReader
0 FileOutputStream and FileReader take file names as arguments.
0 PrintWriter and BufferedReader provide useful methods for
easier writing and reading.
0 Usually need a combination of two classes
0 To use these classes your program needs a line like the following:
import java.io.*;
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 12
 Why Buffering?
0 Not buffered: each byte is read/written from/to disk as soon as
possible
0 “little” delay for each byte
0 A disk operation per byte---higher overhead
0 Buffered: reading/writing in “chunks”
0 Some delay for some bytes
0 Assume 16-byte buffers
0 Reading: access the first 4 bytes, need to wait for all 16
bytes are read from disk to memory
0 Writing: save the first 4 bytes, need to wait for all 16 bytes
before writing from memory to disk
0 A disk operation per a buffer of bytes---lower overhead

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 13

 Every File Has Two Names
1. the stream name used by Java
0 outputStream in the example
2. the name used by the operating
system
0 out.txt in the example

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 14

 Text File Output
0 To open a text file for output: connect a text file to a stream for writing
PrintWriter outputStream =
new PrintWriter(new FileOutputStream("out.txt"));

0 Similar to the long way:

FileOutputStream s = new FileOutputStream("out.txt");
PrintWriter outputStream = new PrintWriter(s);

0 Goal: create a PrintWriter object

0 which uses FileOutputStream to open a text file
0 FileOutputStream “connects” PrintWriter to a text file.

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 15

 Output File Streams

PrintWriter FileOutputStream

Memory Disk

outputStream out.txt

PrintWriter smileyOutStream = new PrintWriter( new FileOutputStream(“smiley.txt”) );

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 16

Methods for PrintWriter
0 Similar to methods for System.out
0 println

outputStream.println(count + " " + line);

0 print
0 format
0 flush: write buffered output to disk
0 close: close the PrintWriter stream (and file)

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 17

 TextFileOutputDemo
Part 1 A try-block is a block:
outputStream would
public static void main(String[] args)
{ not be accessible to the
PrintWriter outputStream = null; rest of the method if it
try were declared inside the
{ Opening the file try-block
outputStream =
new PrintWriter(new FileOutputStream("out.txt"));
} Creating a file can cause the
catch(FileNotFoundException e) FileNotFound-Exception if
{ the new file cannot be made.
System.out.println("Error opening the file out.txt. “
+ e.getMessage());
System.exit(0);
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 18

 TextFileOutputDemo
Part 2
Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.println("Enter three lines of text:");
String line = null;
int count;
for (count = 1; count <= 3; count++)
{ Writing to the file
line = keyboard.nextLine();
outputStream.println(count + " " + line);
}
outputStream.close(); Closing the file
System.out.println("... written to out.txt.");
}
The println method is used with two different
outputStream
streams:Ch-2 Advanced Programming and System.out 19
 Writers(Another method)
0 Writer is an abstract class to write to character
streams

0 Offers write methods to write single characters,

arrays of characters, and strings
void write(int c)
void write(char cbuf[])
void write(String str)

0 BufferedWriter offers efficient writing and a

newLine() method to insert a blank line

0 Close writers with close() method when done

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 20
 How to Write to a Text File
public void writeFileWithBufferedWriter() {
BufferedWriter buffWriter = null;
try {
FileWriter fw = new FileWriter("output.txt");
buffWriter = new BufferedWriter(fw);
while (/*still stuff to write */) {
String line = // get line to write
buffWriter.write(line);
buffWriter.newLine();
}
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error writing to file");
}
if (buffWriter != null) {
try { buffWriter.close(); }
catch(IOException e) { /* ignore */ }
}
}
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 21
 Overwriting a File
0 Opening an output file creates an empty file

0 Opening an output file creates a new file if it does not already

exist

0 Opening an output file that already exists eliminates the old file
and creates a new, empty one
0 data in the original file is lost

0 To see how to check for existence of a file, see the section of the
text that discusses the File class (later slides).

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 22

 Java Tip: Appending to a Text File

0 To add/append to a file instead of replacing it, use a different

constructor for FileOutputStream:
outputStream =
new PrintWriter(new FileOutputStream("out.txt", true));

0 Second parameter: append to the end of the file if it exists?

0 Sample code for letting user tell whether to replace or append:

System.out.println("A for append or N for new file:");

char ans = keyboard.next().charAt(0);
boolean append = (ans == 'A' || ans == 'a'); true if user
outputStream = new PrintWriter( enters 'A'
new FileOutputStream("out.txt", append));
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 23
 Closing a File
0 An output file should be closed when you are done
writing to it (and an input file should be closed when
you are done reading from it).

0 Use the close method of the class PrintWriter

(BufferedReader also has a close method).

0 For example, to close the file opened in the previous

example:
outputStream.close();
0 If a program ends normally it will close any files that are
open.
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 24
 FAQ: Why Bother to Close a File?
If a program automatically closes files when it ends normally,
why close them with explicit calls to close?

Two reasons:
1. To make sure it is closed if a program ends abnormally (it
could get damaged if it is left open).

2. A file opened for writing must be closed before it can be

opened for reading.
0 Although Java does have a class that opens a file for both
reading and writing, it is not used in this text.
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 25
 Text File Input
0 To open a text file for input: connect a text file to a stream for reading
0 Goal: a BufferedReader object,
0 which uses FileReader to open a text file
0 FileReader “connects” BufferedReader to the text file
0 For example:
BufferedReader smileyInStream =
new BufferedReader(new FileReader(“smiley.txt"));
0 Similarly, the long way:
FileReader s = new FileReader(“smiley.txt");
BufferedReader smileyInStream = new
BufferedReader(s);

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 26

 Input File Streams

BufferedReader FileReader

Memory Disk

smileyInStream smiley.txt

BufferedReader smileyInStream = new BufferedReader( new FileReader(“smiley.txt”) );

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 27

 Using a Reader
0 Recall: a Reader is used to read a character input stream

0 Reader offers these methods to read single characters and

arrays of characters:
int read()
int read(char cbuf[])
int read(char cbuf[], int offset, int length)

0 Reader is abstract so you must instantiate a subclass of it

to use these methods
0 The basic read() method reads a single unsigned byte of
data and returns the int value of the unsigned byte. This is
a number between 0 and 255.
0 If the end of stream is encountered, it returns -1 instead;
and you can use this as a flag to watch for the end of stream.
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 28
 How to Read from a Text File
public void readFile() {
FileReader fileReader = null;
try {
fileReader = new FileReader("input.txt");
int c = fileReader.read();
while (c != -1) {
// cast c to char and use it
c = fileReader.read();
}
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
System.out.println("File was not found");
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error reading from file");
}
if (fileReader != null) {
try { fileReader.close(); }
catch (IOException e) { /* ignore */ }
}
} Ch-2 Advanced Programming 29
 Methods for
BufferedReader
0 readLine: read a line into a String
0 no methods to read numbers directly, so read
numbers as Strings and then convert them
(StringTokenizer later)
0 read: read a char at a time
0 close: close BufferedReader stream

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 30

 Exception Handling with File
Catching IOExceptions
I/O
0 IOException is a predefined class
0 File I/O might throw an IOException
0 catch the exception in a catch block that at least prints an error message
and ends the program
0 FileNotFoundException is derived from IOException
0 therefor any catch block that catches IOExceptions also catches
FileNotFoundExceptions
0 put the more specific one first (the derived one) so it catches
specifically file-not-found exceptions
0 then you will know that an I/O error is something other than file-not-
found

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 31

 Example: public static void main(String[] args)

Reading a File {
String fileName = null; // outside try block, can be used in catch

Name from the try

{ Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);

Keyboard
System.out.println("Enter file name:");
fileName = keyboard.next();
BufferedReader inputStream =
reading a file name new BufferedReader(new FileReader(fileName));
from the keyboard String line = null;
line = inputStream.readLine();
System.out.println("The first line in " + filename + " is:");
using the file name System.out.println(line);
read from the // . . . code for reading second line not shown here . . .
inputStream.close();
keyboard } closing the file
catch(FileNotFoundException e)
reading data {
System.out.println("File " + filename + " not found.");
from the file }
catch(IOException e)
{
System.out.println("Error reading from file " + fileName);
}
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 32
}
Chapter 10 Java: an Introduction to Computer Science & Programming - Walter Savitch 32
 Wrap in a BufferedReader
0 BufferedReader has a readLine() method to
read an entire line of characters efficiently

0 Wrap a Reader with a BufferedReader by passing

the Reader as a constructor argument
FileReader fr = new FileReader("myFile.txt");
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr);

0 The readLine() method returns null when there

are no more lines to read
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 33
 Using BufferedReader
public void readFileWithBufferedReader() {
BufferedReader bufferedReader = null;
try {
FileReader fr = new FileReader("input.txt");
bufferedReader = new BufferedReader(fr);
String line = bufferedReader.readLine();
while (line != null) {
// do something with line
line = bufferedReader.readLine();
}
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
System.out.println("File was not found");
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error reading from file");
}
if (bufferedReader != null) {
try { bufferedReader.close(); }
catch (IOException e) { /* ignore */ }
}
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 34
}
 Exception.getMessage()
try
{
…
}
catch (FileNotFoundException e)
{
System.out.println(filename + “ not found”);
System.out.println(“Exception: “ +
e.getMessage());
System.exit(-1);
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 35

 Example:
0
StringTokenizer
Display the words separated by any of the following characters:
space, new line (\n), period (.) or comma (,).
String inputLine = keyboard.nextLine();
StringTokenizer wordFinder =
new StringTokenizer(inputLine, " \n.,");
//the second argument is a string of the 4 delimiters
while(wordFinder.hasMoreTokens())
{
System.out.println(wordFinder.nextToken());
}
Question
2b
Entering "Question,2b.or !tooBee." or
gives this output: !tooBee
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 36
 Reading Words in a String:
Using StringTokenizer Class
0 There are BufferedReader methods to read a line and a
character, but not just a single word

0 StringTokenizer can be used to parse a line into words

0 import java.util.*
0 some of its useful methods are shown in the text
0 e.g. test if there are more tokens
0 you can specify delimiters (the character or characters that
separate words)
0 the default delimiters are "white space" (space, tab, and
newline)

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 37

 Delimiters
0 When data is stored in text format, delimiter characters
are used to separate tokens of the data
0 A list of first names stored separated by the '#' delimiter:
Abera#Tase#Gobena#Biritu
0 Same list with a newline delimiter:
Abera
Tase
Gobena
Biritu

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 38

 StringTokenizer
0 java.util.StringTokenizer separates
Strings at the delimiters to extract tokens
0 Default constructor will assume any whitespace
(spaces, tabs, newlines) to be delimiters
0 Second constructor accepts String of any
delimiter characters
0 nextToken method returns the next data token
between delimiters in the text
0 hasMoreTokens returns true if the text has
remaining tokens
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 39
 Using StringTokenizer
0 Printing out every name from a file where names are
delimited by #:
public void printNamesFromFile(String filename) {
BufferedReader br = null;
try {
br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(filename));
String line = br.readLine();
while(line != null) {
StringTokenizer st = new StringTokenizer(line);
while(st.hasMoreTokens()) {
System.out.println(st.nextToken(“#”));
}
line = br.readLine();
}
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error reading from file.");
}
if (br != null) { try { br.close(); } catch(IOException e) {} }
} 40
 Putting it All Together
0 File 1: Employee_May.dat
Format:Name, SSN, Hourly Rate, Salary to Date
Paul Njoroge, 555-12-3456, 65, 20000
Evelyn Eastmond, 555-22-2222, 70, 30000
Peilei Fan, 555-33-4444, 60, 15000
Ethan Howe, 555-44-5555, 80, 40000
Naveen Goela, 555-66-8888, 75, 20000
. . .

0 File 2: Hours_June.dat
Format: Consecutive integers, which are the number of hours
each employee has worked during June. The integers have the
same sequence as that of the employee records.
Content: 50 60 40 50 70 . . .
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 41
 What We Need to Do . . .
1. For each employee, multiply the hours worked by the
hourly rate

2. Add this to the value of the salary to date

3. Write to a new file named Employee_June.dat, in the

same format as Employee_May.dat, only it includes the
updated, increased value of the salary to date.

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 42

  Create a StringTokenizer over the single line in the
Hours_June.dat file

BufferedReader empReader = null;

String hoursLine = null;
try {
empReader = new BufferedReader(
new FileReader("Hours_June.dat"));
hoursLine = empReader.readLine();
} catch(IOException e) {
System.out.println("Could not read Hours_June.dat");
}

if (empReader != null) {
try { empReader.close(); }
catch(IOException e) {}
}

if (line == null) // exit and report an error

StringTokenizer hoursST = new StringTokenizer(hoursLine);
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 43
  Opening and closing the streams to the employee
files
BufferedReader mayReader = null;
BufferedWriter juneWriter = null;
try {
mayReader = new BufferedReader(
new FileReader("Employee_May.dat"));
juneWriter = new BufferedWriter(
new FileWriter("Employee_June.dat"));

// On next slide, we add code to parse the May data,

// do the salary calculation, and write the June data

} catch(IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error with employee files");
}
if (mayReader != null) {
try { mayReader.close(); } catch(IOException e) {}
}
if (juneWriter != null) {
try { juneWriter.close(); } catch(IOException e) {}
44
}
Ch-2 Advanced Programming
Testing for End of File in a Text File

0 When readLine tries to read beyond the end of a text file it

returns the special value null
0 so you can test for null to stop processing a text file

0 read returns -1 when it tries to read beyond the end of a text file
0 the int value of all ordinary characters is nonnegative

0 Neither of these two methods (read and readLine) will throw an

EOFException.

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 45

 Example: Using Null to
Test for End-of-File in a Text File
Excerpt from TextEOFDemo
When using
readLine
test for null int count = 0;
String line = inputStream.readLine();
while (line != null)
{
count++;
outputStream.println(count + " " + line);
line = inputStream.readLine();
}

When using read test for -1

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 46
Chapter 9 Java: an Introduction to Computer Science & Programming - Walter Savitch 46
 Using Path Names
0 Path name—gives name of file and tells which directory the file is
in
0 Relative path name—gives the path starting with the directory that
the program is in
0 Typical UNIX path name:
/user/smith/home.work/java/FileClassDemo.java
0 Typical Windows path name:
D:\Work\Java\Programs\FileClassDemo.java
0 When a backslash is used in a quoted string it must be written as
two backslashes since backslash is the escape character:
"D:\\Work\\Java\\Programs\\FileClassDemo.java"
0 Java will accept path names in UNIX or Windows format, regardless
of which operating system it is actually running on.
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 47
 File Class [java.io]
0 Acts like a wrapper class for file names
0 A file name like "numbers.txt" has only String properties
0 File has some very useful methods
0 exists: tests if a file already exists
0 canRead: tests if the OS will let you read a file
0 canWrite: tests if the OS will let you write to a file
0 delete: deletes the file, returns true if successful
0 length: returns the number of bytes in the file
0 getName: returns file name, excluding the preceding path
0 getPath: returns the path name—the full name

File numFile = new File(“numbers.txt”);

if (numFile.exists())
System.out.println(numfile.length());
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 48
File Objects and Filenames
0 FileInputStream and FileOutputStream have
constructors that take a File argument as well as constructors
that take a String argument

PrintWriter smileyOutStream = new

PrintWriter(new
FileOutputStream(“smiley.txt”));

File smileyFile = new File(“smiley.txt”);

if (smileyFile.canWrite())
PrintWriter smileyOutStream = new
PrintWriter(new FileOutputStream(smileyFile));

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 49

 Alternative with Scanner
0 Instead of BufferedReader with FileReader, then
StringTokenizer
0 Use Scanner with File:
Scanner inFile =
new Scanner(new File(“in.txt”));
0 Similar to Scanner with System.in:
Scanner keyboard =
new Scanner(System.in);

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 50

 Reading in int’s
Scanner inFile = new Scanner(new File(“in.txt"));
int number;
while (inFile.hasInt())
{
number = inFile.nextInt();
// …
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 51

Reading in lines of characters
Scanner inFile = new Scanner(new File(“in.txt"));
String line;
while (inFile.hasNextLine())
{
line = inFile.nextLine();
// …
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 52

 Multiple types on one line
// Name, id, balance
Scanner inFile = new Scanner(new File(“in.txt"));
while (inFile.hasNext())
{
name = inFile.next();
id = inFile.nextInt();
balance = inFile.nextFloat();
// … new Account(name, id, balance);
}
--------------------
String line;
while (inFile.hasNextLine())
{
line = inFile.nextLine();
Scanner parseLine = new Scanner(line) // Scanner again!
name = parseLine.next();
id = parseLine.nextInt();
balance = parseLine.nextFloat();
// … new Account(name, id, balance);
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 53

 Multiple types on one line
// Name, id, balance
Scanner inFile = new Scanner(new File(“in.txt"));
String line;
while (inFile.hasNextLine())
{
line = inFile.nextLine();
Account account = new Account(line);
}
--------------------
public Account(String line) // constructor
{
Scanner accountLine = new Scanner(line);
_name = accountLine.next();
_id = accountLine.nextInt();
_balance = accountLine.nextFloat();
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 54

BufferedReader vs Scanner
(parsing primitive types)
0 Scanner
0 nextInt(), nextFloat(), … for parsing types
0 BufferedReader
0 read(), readLine(), … none for parsing types
0 needs StringTokenizer then wrapper class
methods like Integer.parseInt(token)

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 55

 BufferedReader vs Scanner
(Checking End of File/Stream (EOF))
0 BufferedReader
0 readLine() returns null
0 read() returns -1
0 Scanner
0 nextLine() throws exception
0 needs hasNextLine() to check first
0 nextInt(), hasNextInt(), …

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 56

BufferedReader inFile = …
line = inFile.readline();
while (line != null)
{
// …
line = inFile.readline();
}

-------------------

Scanner inFile = …
while (inFile.hasNextLine())
{
line = infile.nextLine();
// …
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 57

BufferedReader inFile = …
line = inFile.readline();
while (line != null)
{
// …
line = inFile.readline();
}

-------------------

BufferedReader inFile = …
while ((line = inFile.readline()) != null)
{
// …
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 58

 My suggestion
0 Use Scanner with File
0 new Scanner(new File(“in.txt”))
0 Use hasNext…() to check for EOF
0 while (inFile.hasNext…())
0 Use next…() to read
0 inFile.next…()
0 Simpler and you are familiar with methods for
Scanner

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 59

 My suggestion cont…
0 File input
0 Scanner inFile =
new Scanner(new File(“in.txt”));
0 File output
0 PrintWriter outFile =
new PrintWriter(new File(“out.txt”));
0 outFile.print(), println(), format(),
flush(), close(), …

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 60

 Example: Copying Text Files
void copyFiles(String inFilename, String outFilename)
throws FileNotFoundException {
BufferedReader br = null;
BufferedWriter bw = null;
try {
br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(inFilename));
bw = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter(outFilename));
String line = br.readLine();
while(line != null) {
bw.write(line);
bw.newLine();
line = br.readLine();
}
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error copying files");
}

if (br != null) {try {br.close();} catch(IOException e) {}}

if (bw != null) {try {bw.close();} catch(IOException e) {}}
} Ch-2 Advanced Programming 61
Example: Scanning for a Virus
0 What is a virus?
0 software that hides itself within other executable
programs
0 that executable program is the "host" for the virus
0 the virus program tries to "infect" other programs
0 the virus can cause problems that range from annoying
to malicious
0 A virus that prints an annoying message stores that
string value within itself
0 we will write a program that searches through a file to
find that text, or signature
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 62
 Virus-Detection Algorithm
1. Repeat the following:
a) read a line from a file
b) if no line read due to EOF, terminate
c) otherwise scan the line for specified string of text
d) if that text found(eg. Malware ), stop reading from file
2. Display message whether or not target string was
found – signifying virus found/not found

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 63

 Rename a file or directory
0 Use renameTo(File path) to rename a file

import java.io.File;
public class MainClass {
public static void main(String[] a) {
File file = new File("c:\\text.txt");
file.renameTo(new File("c:\\anotherText.txt"));
}
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 65

 Creates a directory
0 Use mkdir(): to create a directory

import java.io.File;
public class MainClass {
public static void main(String[] a) {
File file = new File("c:\\NewFolder\\");
file.mkdir();
}
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 66

Creates a directory including
any parent directories
0 Use mkdirs(): to create any parent directories

0 import java.io.File;
public class MainClass {
public static void main(String[] a) {
File file = new File("c:\\Parent\\Sub\\");
file.mkdirs();
}
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 67

 Construct file path
import java.io.File;

public class Main {

public static void main(String[] args) {

String filePath = File.separator + "Java" + File.separator + "IO";
File file = new File(filePath);
System.out.println(file.getPath());
}
}
// \Java\IO

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 68

 Absolute and Relative Paths
0 import java.io.File;
public class MainClass {
public static void main(String[] a) {
File myFile = new File("output.txt");
System.out.println(myFile.getAbsolutePath());
}
}
0 Ouput
C:\Java_Dev\eclipse31\Apache Common\output.txt

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 69

 delete the file or directory
0 Use delete(): to delete the file or directory

0 import java.io.File;
public class MainClass {
public static void main(String[] a) {
File file = new File("c:\\test\\test.txt");
boolean success = file.delete();
System.out.println(success);
}
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 70

delete file or directory when
the program ends
0 Use deleteOnExit(): to delete file or directory when
the program ends

0 import java.io.File;
public class MainClass {
public static void main(String[] a) {
File file = new File("c:\\test\\test.txt");
file.deleteOnExit();
}
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 71

 C:\

List all roots

Free space = 30522142720
Usable space = 30522142720
Total space = 112160927744

0 import java.io.File; D:\

Free space = 22253076480
Usable space = 22253076480
public class SpaceChecker { Total space = 254930841600
public static void main(String[] args) { E:\
File[] roots = File.listRoots(); Free space = 0
Usable space = 0
Total space = 0
for (int i = 0; i < roots.length; i++) {
System.out.println(roots[i]);
System.out.println("Free space = " + roots[i].getFreeSpace());
System.out.println("Usable space = " + roots[i].getUsableSpace());
System.out.println("Total space = " + roots[i].getTotalSpace());
System.out.println();
}
}
}
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 72
 Use RandomAccessFile to
reverse a file
0 import java.io.RandomAccessFile;

public class Main {

public static void main(String[] argv) throws Exception {
RandomAccessFile raf = new RandomAccessFile("a.dat", "rw");
int x, y;
for (long i = 0, j = raf.length() - 1; i < j; i++, j--) {
raf.seek(i);
x = raf.read();
raf.seek(j);
y = raf.read();
raf.seek(j);
raf.write(x);
raf.seek(i);
raf.write(y);
}
raf.close();
} Ch-2 Advanced Programming 73
}
 Use RandomAccessFile to
reverse a file
0 The value of mode can be one of these:
"r". Open for reading only.
"rw". Open for reading and writing.
If the file does not already exist, RandomAccessFile creates the
file.
"rws". Open for reading and writing and require that every
update to the file's content and metadata be written
synchronously.
"rwd". Open for reading and writing and require that every
update to the file's content (but not metadata) be written
synchronously.

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 74

 Basic Binary File I/O
0 Important classes for binary file output (to the file)
0 ObjectOutputStream
0 FileOutputStream
0 Important classes for binary file input (from the file):
0 ObjectInputStream
0 FileInputStream
0 Note that FileOutputStream and FileInputStream are used only
for their constructors, which can take file names as arguments.
0 ObjectOutputStream and ObjectInputStream cannot take file
names as arguments for their constructors.
0 To use these classes your program needs a line like the following:
import java.io.*;

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 75

Java File I/O: Stream Classes
0 ObjectInputStream and ObjectOutputStream:
0 have methods to either read or write data one byte at a time
0 automatically convert numbers and characters into binary
0 binary-encoded numeric files (files with numbers) are not
readable by a text editor, but store data more efficiently
0 Remember:
0 input means data into a program, not the file
0 similarly, output means data out of a program, not the file

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 76

When Using ObjectOutputStream
to Output Data to Files:
0 The output files are binary and can store any of the primitive data
types (int, char, double, etc.) and the String type

0 The files created can be read by other Java programs but are not
printable

0 The Java I/O library must be imported by including the line:

import java.io.*;
0 it contains ObjectOutputStream and other useful class
definitions

0 An IOException might be thrown

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 77

 Handling IOException
0 IOException cannot be ignored
0 either handle it with a catch block
0 or defer it with a throws-clause

We will put code to open the file and write to it in a try-block and
write a catch-block for this exception :
catch(IOException e)
{
System.out.println("Problem with output...";
}

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 78

 Opening a New Output File
0 The file name is given as a String
0 file name rules are determined by your operating system

0 Opening an output file takes two steps

1. Create a FileOutputStream object associated with the file name
String
2. Connect the FileOutputStream to an ObjectOutputStream
object
This can be done in one line of code

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 79

Example: Opening an Output File
To open a file named numbers.dat:
ObjectOutputStream outputStream =
new ObjectOutputStream(
new FileOutputStream("numbers.dat"));

0 The constructor for ObjectOutputStream requires a

FileOutputStream argument
0 The constructor for FileOutputStream requires a String argument
0 the String argument is the output file name
0 The following two statements are equivalent to the single statement above:
FileOutputStream middleman =
new FileOutputStream("numbers.dat");
ObjectOutputStream outputStream =
new ObjectOutputSteam(middleman);
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 80
 Some ObjectOutputStream
Methods
0 You can write data to an output file after it is connected to a stream
class
0 Use methods defined in ObjectOutputStream
0 writeInt(int n)
0 writeDouble(double x)
0 writeBoolean(boolean b)
0 etc.
0 See the text for more

0 Note that each write method throws IOException

0 eventually we will have to write a catch block for it

0 Also note that each write method includes the modifier final
0 final methods cannot be redefined in derived classes
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 81
 Closing a File
0 An Output file should be closed when you are done
writing to it

0 Use the close method of the class

ObjectOutputStream

0 For example, to close the file opened in the previous

example:
outputStream.close();

0 If a program ends normally it will close any files that are

open

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 82

Writing a Character to a File:
an Unexpected Little
Complexity
The method writeChar has an annoying property:
0
0 it takes an int, not a char, argument

0 But it is easy to fix:

0 just cast the character to an int

0 For example, to write the character 'A' to the file opened previously:
outputStream.writeChar((int) 'A');

0 Or, just use the automatic conversion from char to int

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 83

Writing a boolean Value to a
File
0 boolean values can be either of two values, true or
false

0 true and false are not just names for the values,
they actually are of type boolean

0 For example, to write the boolean value false to

the output file:
outputStream.writeBoolean(false);

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 84

 Writing Strings to a File:
Another Little Unexpected Complexity
0 Use the writeUTF method to output a value of type String
0 there is no writeString method
0 UTF stands for Unicode Text Format
0 a special version of Unicode
0 Unicode: a text (printable) code that uses 2 bytes per character
0 designed to accommodate languages with a different alphabet or no
alphabet (such as Chinese and Japanese)
0 ASCII: also a text (printable) code, but it uses just 1 byte per character
0 the most common code for English and languages with a similar
alphabet
0 UTF is a modification of Unicode that uses just one byte for ASCII
characters
0 allows other languages without sacrificing efficiency for ASCII files
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 85
When Using ObjectInputStream
to Read Data from Files:
0 Input files are binary and contain any of the primitive data types
(int, char, double, etc.) and the String type

0 The files can be read by Java programs but are not printable

0 The Java I/O library must be imported including the line:

import java.io.*;
0 it contains ObjectInputStream and other useful class
definitions

0 An IOException might be thrown

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 86

 Opening a New Input File
0 Similar to opening an output file, but replace "output" with "input"

0 The file name is given as a String

0 file name rules are determined by your operating system

0 Opening a file takes two steps

1. Creating a FileInputStream object associated with the file name
String
2. Connecting the FileInputStream to an ObjectInputStream
object

0 This can be done in one line of code

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 87
Example: Opening an Input File
To open a file named numbers.dat:
ObjectInputStream inStream =
new ObjectInputStream (new
FileInputStream("numbers.dat"));
0 The constructor for ObjectInputStream requires a
FileInputStream argument
0 The constructor for FileInputStream requires a String argument
0 the String argument is the input file name
0 The following two statements are equivalent to the statement at the top of
this slide:
FileInputStream middleman =
new FileInputStream("numbers.dat");
ObjectInputStream inputStream =
new ObjectInputStream (middleman);
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 88
 Some ObjectInputStream
Methods
0 For every output file method there is a corresponding input file method

0 You can read data from an input file after it is connected to a stream
class
0 Use methods defined in ObjectInputStream
0 readInt()
0 readDouble()
0 readBoolean()
0 etc.
0 See the text for more

0 Note that each write method throws IOException

0 Also note that each write method includes the modifier final

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 89

 Input File Exceptions
0 A FileNotFoundException is thrown if the file is not
found when an attempt is made to open a file

0 Each read method throws IOException

0 we still have to write a catch block for it

0 If a read goes beyond the end of the file an EOFException is

thrown

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 90

Avoiding Common ObjectInputStream
File Errors
There is no error message (or exception)
if you read the wrong data type!

0 Input files can contain a mix of data types

0 it is up to the programmer to know their order and use
the correct read method
0 ObjectInputStream works with binary, not text files
0 As with an output file, close the input file when you are
done with it

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 91

 Common Methods
to Test for the End of an Input File
0 A common programming situation is to read data from an
input file but not know how much data the file contains

0 In these situations you need to check for the end of the file

0 There are three common ways to test for the end of a file:
1. Put a sentinel value at the end of the file and test for it.
2. Throw and catch an end-of-file exception.
3. Test for a special character that signals the end of the
file (text files often have such a character).
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 92
 The EOFException Class
0 Many (but not all) methods that read from a file throw an end-of-file
exception (EOFException) when they try to read beyond the file
0 all the ObjectInputStream methods in Display 9.3 do throw it

0 The end-of-file exception can be used in an "infinite" (while(true))

loop that reads and processes data from the file
0 the loop terminates when an EOFException is thrown

0 The program is written to continue normally after the EOFException

has been caught

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 93

 Using try
{

EOFException
ObjectInputStream inputStream =
new ObjectInputStream(new FileInputStream("numbers.dat"));
int n;

System.out.println("Reading ALL the integers");

main method from System.out.println("in the file numbers.dat.");
EOFExceptionDemo try
{
while (true)
Intentional "infinite" loop to {
process data from input file n = inputStream.readInt();
System.out.println(n);
}
Loop exits when end-of- }
file exception is thrown catch(EOFException e)
{
System.out.println("End of reading from file.");
Processing continues }
after EOFException: inputStream.close();
the input file is closed }
catch(FileNotFoundException e)
{
System.out.println("Cannot find file numbers.dat.");
Note order of catch blocks: }
catch(IOException e)
the most specific is first {
and the most general last System.out.println("Problem with input from file numbers.dat.");
Ch-2 Advanced
} Programming 94
Chapter 9 Java: an Introduction to Computer Science & Programming - Walter Savitch 94
 Binary I/O of Class Objects
0 read and write class objects in binary file

0 class must be serializable

0 import java.io.*
0 implement Serializable interface
0 add implements Serializable to heading of class definition

public class Species implements Serializable

0 methods used:
to write object to file: to read object from file:
writeObject method in readObject method in
ObjectOutputStream ObjectInputStream

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 95

outputStream = new ObjectOutputStream(
new FileOutputStream("species.records"));
...
Species oneRecord =
new Species("Calif. Condor, 27, 0.02);
...
outputStream.writeObject(oneRecord);

ClassIODemo Excerpts
inputStream = new ObjectInputStream(
new FileInputStream("species.records"));
... readObject returns a reference to
Species readOne = null; type Object so it must be cast to
... Species before assigning to readOne
readOne = (Species)inputStream.readObject(oneRecord);
Ch-2 Advanced Programming 96
 The Serializable
Interface
0 Java assigns a serial number to each object written out.
0 If the same object is written out more than once, after the first
write only the serial number will be written.
0 When an object is read in more than once, then there will be
more than one reference to the same object.
0 If a serializable class has class instance variables then they
should also be serializable.
0 Why aren't all classes made serializable?
0 security issues: serial number system can make it easier for
programmers to get access to object data
0 doesn't make sense in all cases, e.g., system-dependent data

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 97

 Summary
Part 1
0 Text files contain strings of printable characters; they look
intelligible to humans when opened in a text editor.
0 Binary files contain numbers or data in non-printable codes;
they look unintelligible to humans when opened in a text
editor.
0 Java can process both binary and text files, but binary files
are more common when doing file I/O.
0 The class ObjectOutputStream is used to write output
to a binary file.

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 98

 Summary
Part 2
0 The class ObjectInputStream is used to read input from
a binary file.
0 Always check for the end of the file when reading from a file.
The way you check for end-of-file depends on the method
you use to read from the file.
0 A file name can be read from the keyboard into a String
variable and the variable used in place of a file name.
0 The class File has methods to test if a file exists and if it is
read- and/or write-enabled.
0 Serializable class objects can be written to a binary file.

Ch-2 Advanced Programming 99