Java:
Reading a text file

How to:

Reading a file is a breeze in Java, especially with java.nio.file. Here’s a quick example:

import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.stream.Stream;

public class FileReadExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Path filePath = Path.of("example.txt");

        try (Stream<String> lines = Files.lines(filePath)) {
            lines.forEach(System.out::println);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Running this with example.txt containing “Hello, file readers!” would output:

Hello, file readers!

Deep Dive

Java has evolved. Back in the day, you’d have to manage streams and readers yourself – plenty of boilerplate. The java.io package was all the rage, with FileReader and BufferedReader often seen in the wild. Then came java.nio, offering channels and buffers for more control.

Now, java.nio.file is even higher level. Files and Paths simplify the job. The example above uses Files.lines, which streams lines lazily, great for big files. You also get try-with-resources, automatically closing streams to avoid leaks.

Alternatives? Scanner is handy for parsing. Apache Commons IO and Google’s Guava have utilities for more complex tasks, if you need them. Still, vanilla Java usually gets you pretty far.

Implementation-wise, file encoding matters. Files.lines assumes UTF-8 by default but you can specify another. On the other hand, BufferedReader needs you to set the Charset upfront if it’s not the default.

See Also

For more zest, peek at these:

• The Files class in Java’s official documentation.
• Reading, Writing, and Creating Files for a thorough walk-through.
• Apache Commons IO for a robust library of file IO utilities.