Java Tutorial Series - How to read a text file

We can read a text file using few Java libraries, in this tutorial we will learn how to do it.

How to Read a text file using Java -

Firstly, copy the path of the text file.

public class App {

   public static void main(String[] Args) throws FileNotFoundException{

       String filename = "C:\users\some_text_file.txt";

// Windows machine either accepts / or \\ 

File textFile = new File(filename);

Scanner in = new Scanner(textFile) 

While(in.hasNextLine()) {

String line = in.nextLine();

System.out.println(line);

}

in.close();

}

}

That's it!!! and that's the easiest way to read a text file using scanner class. You can modify the code as per your needs.

How to Read a file using FileReader -

public class App {

    public static void main(String[] Args) {

    File file = new File("test.txt");
    BufferedReader br = Null;  

try {
   FileReader fr = new FileReader(file);
   br = new BufferedReader(fr);
   String line;
   While( line=br.ReadLine() ! = Null) {
         System.out.println(line);
      }
}
 catch(FileNotFoundException e) {
     System.out.println("File not Found: " + file.toString());
}
catch(IOException e) {
System.out.println("unable to read file: "+ file.toString());
}
finally {
try {
br.close();
}
catch(IOException e) {
System.out.println("Unable to close file: "+ file.toString() ) ;
}
catch(NullPointerException e) {
}
}


The above method can be simplified using Java 7, we don't need to use boilerplate code. Let's look into optimised code in upcoming articles.




Happy Learning and happy sharing!!