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Serialization- How to store multiple objects in a file

I am making an Email Client(for class) and i want to store the messages i send everyday in a single file.I am going to use serialization for this.I tried appending to a file by setting append to true in FileOutputStream.Below is the code i wrote.But it throws a StreamCorruptedException(stack trace given below).I cannot seem to find the reason why.I would like to know whether there is a better way to store multiple objects to a single file using serialization.Any help is appreciated.Thanks in advance.
//For reading and writing objects to files
interface MyFileHandler<T> {
public void write(T input );
public ArrayList<T> read();
}
class FileHandlerObject implements MyFileHandler<EmailMessage>
{
public void write(EmailMessage input){
try{
FileOutputStream fileOutputStream = new FileOutputStream("emails.ser",true);
ObjectOutputStream objectOutputStream = new ObjectOutputStream(fileOutputStream);
objectOutputStream.writeObject(input);
objectOutputStream.flush();
objectOutputStream.close();
}
catch(IOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public ArrayList<EmailMessage> read(){
ArrayList<EmailMessage> messages=new ArrayList<EmailMessage>();
try{
FileInputStream fileInputStream=new FileInputStream("emails.ser");
ObjectInputStream objectInputStream=new ObjectInputStream(fileInputStream);
boolean cont = true;
while (cont) {
if(fileInputStream.available()!=0)
{
Object obj=objectInputStream.readObject();
EmailMessage message=(EmailMessage)obj;
messages.add(message);
}
else{
cont=false;
}
}
objectInputStream.close();
return messages;
}
catch(IOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
catch(ClassNotFoundException c)
{
c.printStackTrace();
}
catch(ClassCastException c)
{
c.printStackTrace();
}
return null;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
FileHandlerObject f=new FileHandlerObject();
ArrayList<EmailMessage> a=f.read();
a=f.read();
}
}
And the Email Message class that i serialize
public class EmailMessage implements Serializable{//implement serializables
private String recipient;
private String subject;
private String content;
private String date;
public void setRecipient(String recipient)
{
this.recipient=recipient;
}
public String getRecipient()
{
return this.recipient;
}
public void setSubject(String subject){
this.subject=subject;
}
public void setContent(String content){
this.content=content;
}
public String getSubject(){
return this.subject;
}
public String getContent(){
return this.content;
}
public void setDate(String date)
{
this.date=date;
}
public String getDate()
{
return this.date;
}
public String printDetails()
{
String details="Recipient: "+getRecipient()+
"\nSubject: "+getSubject()+
"\nEmail content: "+getContent()+
"\nDate Sent: "+getDate();
return details;
}}
And below is the stack trace
java.io.StreamCorruptedException: invalid type code: AC
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject0(ObjectInputStream.java:1723)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject(ObjectInputStream.java:508)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject(ObjectInputStream.java:466)
at FileHandlerObject.read(MyFileHandler.java:46)
at FileHandlerObject.main(MyFileHandler.java:89)

IOException problem with file loading - Java / [closed]

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How can i fix problem with load ArrayList from file?
Full code is on the git:
project github link
When I load data from file I'll get it back -> IOException
I'm learning to use the stream so I'm writing it to a file.
After the end of the program, I want to write the time the user has reached in the arraylist and list all the times with which the game was finished.
package sk.games.puzzle;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
public class BestTimes implements Iterable<BestTimes.PlayerTime>, Serializable{
private static final String BESTTIME_DB = System.getProperty("user.home")
+ System.getProperty("file.separator")
+ "best.time";
private List<PlayerTime> playerTimes = new ArrayList<>();
public Iterator<PlayerTime> iterator() {
return playerTimes.iterator();
}
public void addTime(String name, int time){
playerTimes.add(new PlayerTime(name, time));
Collections.sort(playerTimes);
}
public void load(){
ObjectInputStream load = null;
try {
load = new ObjectInputStream(new FileInputStream(BESTTIME_DB));
playerTimes = (ArrayList<PlayerTime>) load.readObject();
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
System.err.println("fail nebola najdena db");
} catch (IOException e) {
System.err.println("fail nebola otvorena db");
} catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
System.err.println("fail nebol najdeny zaznam");
} finally {
if (load != null) {
try {
load.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
//empty
}
}
}
}
public void save() {
ObjectOutputStream save = null;
try {
save = new ObjectOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(BESTTIME_DB));
save.writeObject(playerTimes);
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
System.err.println("fail db neexistuje");
} catch (IOException e) {
System.err.println("fail nepodarilo sa otvorit db");
} finally {
if (save != null) {
try {
save.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
//empty
}
}
}
}
#Override
public String toString() {
Formatter f = new Formatter();
for (int i = 0; i < playerTimes.size(); i++) {
PlayerTime pt = playerTimes.get(i);
f.format("%02d. %s - %ds.\n", i, pt.getName(), pt.getTime());
}
return f.toString();
}
public static class PlayerTime implements Comparable<PlayerTime> {
private final String name;
private final int time;
public PlayerTime(String name, int time) {
this.name = name;
this.time = time;
}
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public int getTime() {
return time;
}
#Override
public int compareTo(PlayerTime o){
return Integer.compare(this.time, o.getTime());
}
}
}

The problem is that your PlayerTime class is not serializable.
public static class PlayerTime implements Comparable<PlayerTime> { }
should be
public static class PlayerTime implements Comparable<PlayerTime> implements Serializable { }
It's not necessary to make BestTimes serializable unless you do write BestTimes object to file.

Why is this Class' object not serialized properly in different processes?

Context
I made a Java application, and need to run two instances of that application, synchronizing some of their attributes via socket each time there's some change. To communicate those changes, Serializable objects are sent through a socket using ObjectStreams (input and output) using read/writeUTF() for an identifier, and read/writeObject() and flush(). The app is the exact same .jar, run twice with some changes like having different ports and ip (if necessary).
Problem
I noticed that objects of some of my classes (e.g. Notification) were sent and received without any troubles, but objects from another class (RegisteredUsers) weren't sent (or received) properly. So I ran some tests to send objects between the two apps and found that the object is being sent and isn't null, it's attribute (a HashMap<String,User>) is also being sent and isn't null, but is always empty.
So I decided to scale it down to what the problem was exactly: I'm trying to write an object through a Stream, and read it in a different process of the same .jar, and with most classes it seems to work, but it doesn't with one.
There seems to be something I'm missing or don't understand about this serialization process, if the object is written and read during the execution of the same process it works, but not if this object is read on another instance of the same app. I even added a HashMap to Notification with the same creation process, but it still works, I really don't get it, what am I missing?
Code
I have taken some code from the bigger app and trimmed it down to the basic problem if anyone wants to test it. To reproduce the errors, run Main1, which will create the two files with an object persisted in each one (one with a Notification object and the other with a RegisteredUsers object) and shows their information, then Main2, which reads them from the files and shows their information, and the problem should be printed. That being that reg3's HashMap is empty and thus neither of the Users are registered.
Main1
public class Main1 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String regFile = "registry.txt";
String notificationFile = "notification.txt";
Persistence pers = new Persistence();
RegisteredUsers reg1 = new RegisteredUsers();
RegisteredUsers reg2 = new RegisteredUsers();
reg1.register("Name1", "127.0.0.1");
reg1.register("Name2", "127.0.0.1");
try {
pers.writeReg(reg1, regFile);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error writing registry.");
}
try {
reg2 = pers.readReg(regFile);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error reading registry.");
}
System.out.println("Original registry: ");
System.out.println(reg1.isRegistered("Name1") + " " + reg1.isRegistered("Name2"));
System.out.println("Registry read from file: ");
System.out.println(reg2.isRegistered("Name1") + " " + reg2.isRegistered("Name2"));
Notification noti1 = new Notification("Name", "127.0.0.1");
Notification noti2 = new Notification(); //not necesary but it's the way it's done in the bigger app.
try {
pers.writeNotif(noti1, notificationFile);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error writing notification.");
}
try {
noti2 = pers.readNotif(notificationFile);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error reading notification.");
}
System.out.println("Original notification: ");
System.out.println(noti1.getAttributes().get(0) + " " + noti1.getAttributes().get(1));
System.out.println(noti1.getMap());
System.out.println("Notification read from file: ");
System.out.println(noti2.getAttributes().get(0) + " " + noti2.getAttributes().get(1));
System.out.println(noti2.getMap());
}
}
Main2
public class Main2 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String regFile = "registry.txt";
String notificationFile = "notification.txt";
Persistence pers = new Persistence();
RegisteredUsers reg3 = new RegisteredUsers();
try {
reg3 = pers.readReg(regFile);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error reading registry.");
}
if (reg3 == null) {
System.out.println("reg3 is null");
}
if (reg3.getMap() == null)
System.out.println("reg3 has a null map");
if (reg3.getMap().isEmpty())
System.out.println("reg3 has an empty map");
System.out.println("Registry read from file on another process: ");
System.out.println(reg3.isRegistered("Name1") + " " + reg3.isRegistered("Name2"));
Notification noti3 = new Notification(); //not necesary but it's the way it's done in the bigger app.
try {
noti3 = pers.readNotif(notificationFile);
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error reading notification.");
}
System.out.println("Notification read from file on another process: ");
System.out.println(noti3.getAttributes().get(0) + " " + noti3.getAttributes().get(1));
System.out.println(noti3.getMap());
}
}
A Class to persist the objects in the files:
public class Persistence {
public void writeReg(RegisteredUsers regus, String file) throws IOException {
try(FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream(file);
ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);) {
oos.writeObject(regus);
oos.flush();
}
}
public RegisteredUsers readReg(String file) throws IOException {
RegisteredUsers regus = null;
try(FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(file);
ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(fis);) {
regus = (RegisteredUsers) ois.readObject();
} catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
System.out.println("Wrong class.");
}
return regus;
}
public void writeNotif(Notification regus, String file) throws IOException {
try(FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream(file);
ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);) {
oos.writeObject(regus);
oos.flush();
}
}
public Notification readNotif(String file) throws IOException {
Notification notif = null;
try(FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(file);
ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(fis);) {
notif = (Notification) ois.readObject();
} catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
System.out.println("Wrong class.");
}
return notif;
}
}
RegisteredUsers
public class RegisteredUsers implements Serializable {
private static HashMap<String, User> users;
public RegisteredUsers() {
users = new HashMap<String, User>();
}
public HashMap<String, User> getMap() {
return users;
}
public boolean isRegistered(String name) {
User us = users.get(name);
return us != null;
}
public void register(String name, String ip) {
users.put(name, new User(name, ip, false));
}
}
Notification
public class Notification implements Serializable {
private ArrayList<String> attributes;
private HashMap<String, User> map = new HashMap<>();
public Notification() {
}
public Notification(String name, String ip) {
attributes = new ArrayList<String>();
attributes.add(0, name);
attributes.add(1, ip);
map.put(ip, new User(name, ip, false));
}
public ArrayList<String> getAttributes() {
return attributes;
}
public HashMap<String, User> getMap() {
return map;
}
}
User
public class User implements Serializable {
private String name;
private String ip;
private boolean connection_state;
public User(String name, String ip, boolean connection_state) {
this.name = name;
this.ip = ip;
this.connection_state = connection_state;
}
}

In java static fields are implicitly transient, and transient fields are not serialized.
If you modify the RegisterdUsers to
public class RegisteredUsers implements Serializable {
private HashMap<String, User> users; // static modifier is removed
...
}
The serialization will work.

Cannot write to file ArrayList with class objects

I've reasearched a lot of websites and I couldn't find answear. I'm trying to write to .txt file my ArrayList which constains class objects. Every time I try to do it I`m getting exception. With reading is the same problem. Here is my code:
public static void write()
{
try
{
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("clients.txt");
ObjectOutputStream oout = new ObjectOutputStream(out);
oout.writeObject(lista);
oout.close();
}
catch(Exception ioe)
{
System.out.println("writing Error!");
welcome();
}
}
public static void read()
{
try
{
ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(new FileInputStream("clients.txt"));
lista = (List<Client>) ois.readObject();
}
catch (ClassNotFoundException ex)
{
System.out.println("Koniec pliku");
}
catch(IOException ioe)
{
System.out.println("Error!");
welcome();
}
}

I guess you're looking for the Serializable interface of Java. In order to save objects you're class have to implement it.
The question is: What execatly do you want to save? The content of the list so that you can save it in a file and load it afterwards?
This simple example works for me (for the scenario I mention above):
public class User implements Serializable {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private String name;
private int age;
public User(String name, int ag) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
}
#Override
public String toString() {
return (this.name + ' ' + this.age);
}
}
public class Main {
private static List<User> l;
public static void main(String[] args) {
l = new ArrayList<User>();
user1 = new User("John", 22);
user2 = new User("Jo", 33);
l.add(user1);
l.add(user2);
write();
}
public static void write() {
try {
FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream("testout.txt");
BufferedOutputStream bos = new BufferedOutputStream(fos);
ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(bos);
oos.writeObject(l);
oos.close();
} catch (Exception ioe) {
System.out.println("writing Error!");
}
}
}

Ok I have changed a bit (not each function just the read and write functionality) and this work.
Link to Code.
One important thing is that the Scanner class is not serializable. Therefore, you have to make it static for example.

Reading an Object from a file to an ArrayList

When Im trying to read an object and store in arraylist but im getting an exception this is the part of code where im facing a problem.
public class Customer implements Serializable {
private String username;
private String password;
private int age;
private String accttype;
private String acctno;
private float amount;
Customer() {
System.out.println("Im in Customer");
}
public boolean writeToDataBase(String uname, String pwd, int cage, String caccttype, String cacctno, float camount) throws IOException {
Customer custobj = new Customer();
FileOutputStream fos=null;
ObjectOutputStream oos=null;
custobj.username = uname;
custobj.password = pwd;
custobj.age = cage;
custobj.accttype = caccttype;
custobj.acctno = cacctno;
custobj.amount = camount;
try {
fos=new FileOutputStream("Customerdetails.txt",true);
oos=new ObjectOutputStream(fos);
oos.writeObject(custobj);
oos.close();
fos.close();
return true;
} catch (Exception ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
finally
{
fos.close();
oos.close();
}
}
public boolean retriveFromDataBase(int a) throws IOException
{
try {
Customer custobj = new Customer();
FileInputStream fis=null;
ObjectInputStream ois=null;
ArrayList<Customer> custlist;
try {
custlist = new ArrayList<Customer>();
fis = new FileInputStream("Customerdetails.txt");
ois = new ObjectInputStream(fis);
while (fis.available()!=0) {
custobj=(Customer)ois.readObject();
custlist.add(custobj);
}
System.out.println("Customer List" + custlist.size());
if (a == 3) {
for (int i = 0; i < custlist.size(); i++) {
custobj = custlist.get(i);
custobj.displayCustomers();
}
}
return true;
} catch (Exception ex) {
System.out.println(ex.toString());
System.out.println("No users are presnt in the file");
return false;
}
finally
{
ois.close();
fis.close();
}
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
System.out.println(ex.toString());
return false;
}
}
public void displayCustomers()
{
try
{
System.out.println("details"+username+"\t"+age+"\t"+password+"\t"+acctno+"\t"+accttype+"\t"+amount);
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
}

Does your object implement the Serializiable or Externalizeable interface? If yes do you use non transitive objects that don't implement serializiable/externalizeable and don't offer a argumentless default constructor?
Without further information (which exception, more code) it's hard to say.

I noted that the program throws java.io.StreamCorruptedException, when you run it for the second time. It works fine when you run it only once.
The problem is that you cannot APPEND to the same file : Customerdetails.txt every time you serialize in writeToDatabase(..) method. So remove the append flag : "true" in the call to constructor of FileOutputStream in writeToDatabase(..) method.