Writing from System.out.println to a file - java

I've replaced many strings and outputted the result and now am trying to write those lines into a text file. Here's what I did. I created a new file:
File newfile = new File("/Users/Bill/Desktop/newfile.txt");
if (newfile.exists()) {
System.out.println("File exists");
} else {
newfile.createNewFile();
System.out.println("New file created");
}
And then I tried to write to the created file the result of System.out.println(lines[i]);
try {
WriteToFile newFile = new WriteToFile(newfile, true);
newFile.write(lines[i]);
// lines[i] is what I used to print out System.out.println(lines[i])
}
catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Error.");
}
I'm not getting what I'm expecting, though. Any suggestions?
WRITETOFILE:
public class WriteToFile {
private String path;
private boolean append = false;
public WriteToFile(String filename) {
path=filename;
}
public WriteToFile(String filename, boolean appendfile){
path=filename;
append=appendfile;
}
public void write(String text) throws IOException {
FileWriter filewrite = new FileWriter(path, append);
PrintWriter print = new PrintWriter(filewrite);
print.printf("%s" + "%n", text);
print.close();
}
}

Every time you call WriteToFile.write, it reopens the file for writing, truncating the file's original contents. You should open the file once, in the constructor (and store the PrintWriter in a field), and add a close method that calls close for the PrintWriter.
On the calling side, do this:
WriteToFile writer = new WriteToFile(filename);
try {
// writer.write(...);
} finally {
writer.close();
}
By having the close call in a finally block, you ensure the file is closed even if an exception causes the function to quit early.

Look at the 2nd argument of the FileWriter constructor in your code.
FileWriter filewrite = new FileWriter(path, append);
See, it says "append". Guess what it does. Read the documentation if you're unsure.
Now, look how you initialized append.
private boolean append = false;
This code is fully behaving as expected. It's just a developer's fault. Fix it :)

Just set fileName on System using the method
System.setOut(fileName);
Then whenever we want to print using System.out.println() it will directly print to the fileName you mention.

Related

Write to text file without overwriting previous entry

I'm using this to write to a text file. Works fine while program is open but when I close and reopen and start saving again it completely over writes the previous numbers.
private void writeNumbers(ArrayList<String> nums)
{
try
{
PrintStream oFile = new PrintStream("lottoNumbers.txt");
oFile.print(nums);
oFile.close();
}
catch(IOException ioe)
{
System.out.println("I/O Error" + ioe);
}
}
Are you reading in this text file upon starting the program? If the file you are writing to already exists, it always will overwrite it. If you want it to add to the file, you need to read it in upon starting the program, save that data somewhere, then write the OLD data + the NEW data to the file.
Although there might be an easier way of doing it, this is how i have done it in the past.
write an if statement to check if the file exists, if it exists you can use "file.append" else create a new one.
public class WriteToFileExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
String content = "This is the content to write into file";
File file = new File("/users/mkyong/filename.txt");
// if file doesnt exists, then create it
if (!file.exists()) {
file.createNewFile();
}
FileWriter fw = new FileWriter(file.getAbsoluteFile());
BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(fw);
bw.write(content);
bw.close();
System.out.println("Done");
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
you can try this append mode
try {
Files.write(Paths.get("myfile.txt"), "the text".getBytes(), StandardOpenOption.APPEND);
}catch (IOException e) {
//exception handling left as an exercise for the reader
}
or
FileUtils.writeStringToFile(file, "String to append", true);

What is the simplest way to write a text file in Java?

I am wondering what is the easiest (and simplest) way to write a text file in Java. Please be simple, because I am a beginner :D
I searched the web and found this code, but I understand 50% of it.
import java.io.BufferedWriter;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
public class WriteToFileExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
String content = "This is the content to write into file";
File file = new File("C:/Users/Geroge/SkyDrive/Documents/inputFile.txt");
// if file doesnt exists, then create it
if (!file.exists()) {
file.createNewFile();
}
FileWriter fw = new FileWriter(file.getAbsoluteFile());
BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(fw);
bw.write(content);
bw.close();
System.out.println("Done");
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
With Java 7 and up, a one liner using Files:
String text = "Text to save to file";
Files.write(Paths.get("./fileName.txt"), text.getBytes());
You could do this by using JAVA 7 new File API.
code sample:
`
public class FileWriter7 {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
List<String> lines = Arrays.asList(new String[] { "This is the content to write into file" });
String filepath = "C:/Users/Geroge/SkyDrive/Documents/inputFile.txt";
writeSmallTextFile(lines, filepath);
}
private static void writeSmallTextFile(List<String> aLines, String aFileName) throws IOException {
Path path = Paths.get(aFileName);
Files.write(path, aLines, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
}
}
`
You can use FileUtils from Apache Commons:
import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
final File file = new File("test.txt");
FileUtils.writeStringToFile(file, "your content", StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
Appending the file FileWriter(String fileName,
boolean append)
try { // this is for monitoring runtime Exception within the block
String content = "This is the content to write into file"; // content to write into the file
File file = new File("C:/Users/Geroge/SkyDrive/Documents/inputFile.txt"); // here file not created here
// if file doesnt exists, then create it
if (!file.exists()) { // checks whether the file is Exist or not
file.createNewFile(); // here if file not exist new file created
}
FileWriter fw = new FileWriter(file.getAbsoluteFile(), true); // creating fileWriter object with the file
BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(fw); // creating bufferWriter which is used to write the content into the file
bw.write(content); // write method is used to write the given content into the file
bw.close(); // Closes the stream, flushing it first. Once the stream has been closed, further write() or flush() invocations will cause an IOException to be thrown. Closing a previously closed stream has no effect.
System.out.println("Done");
} catch (IOException e) { // if any exception occurs it will catch
e.printStackTrace();
}
Your code is the simplest. But, i always try to optimize the code further. Here is a sample.
try (BufferedWriter bw = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter(new File("./output/output.txt")))) {
bw.write("Hello, This is a test message");
bw.close();
}catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {
System.out.println(ex.toString());
}
Files.write() the simple solution as #Dilip Kumar said. I used to use that way untill I faced an issue, can not affect line separator (Unix/Windows) CR LF.
So now I use a Java 8 stream file writing way, what allows me to manipulate the content on the fly. :)
List<String> lines = Arrays.asList(new String[] { "line1", "line2" });
Path path = Paths.get(fullFileName);
try (BufferedWriter writer = Files.newBufferedWriter(path)) {
writer.write(lines.stream()
.reduce((sum,currLine) -> sum + "\n" + currLine)
.get());
}
In this way, I can specify the line separator or I can do any kind of magic like TRIM, Uppercase, filtering etc.
String content = "your content here";
Path path = Paths.get("/data/output.txt");
if(!Files.exists(path)){
Files.createFile(path);
}
BufferedWriter writer = Files.newBufferedWriter(path);
writer.write(content);
In Java 11 or Later, writeString can be used from java.nio.file.Files,
String content = "This is my content";
String fileName = "myFile.txt";
Files.writeString(Paths.get(fileName), content);
With Options:
Files.writeString(Paths.get(fileName), content, StandardOpenOption.CREATE)
More documentation about the java.nio.file.Files and StandardOpenOption
File file = new File("path/file.name");
IOUtils.write("content", new FileOutputStream(file));
IOUtils also can be used to write/read files easily with java 8.

How to read a certain line with a BufferedWriter

I am working on a simple save system for my game, which involves three methods, init load and save.
This is my first time trying out reading and writing to/from a file, so I am not sure if I am doing this correctly, therefore I request assistance.
I want to do this:
When the game starts, init is called. If the file saves does not exist, it is created, if it does, load is called.
Later on in the game, save will be called, and variables will be written to the file, line by line (I am using two in this example.)
However, I am stuck on the load function. I have no idea what do past the point I am on. Which is why I am asking, if it is possible to select a certain line from a file, and change the variable to that specific line.
Here is my code, like I said, I have no idea if I am doing this correctly, so help is appreciated.
private File saves = new File("saves.txt");
private void init(){
PrintWriter pw = null;
if(!saves.exists()){
try {
pw = new PrintWriter(new File("saves.txt"));
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}else{
try {
load();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
public void save(){
PrintWriter pw = null;
try {
pw = new PrintWriter(new FileOutputStream(new File("saves.txt"), true));
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
pw.println(player.coinBank);
pw.println(player.ammo);
pw.close();
}
public void load() throws IOException{
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(saves));
String line;
while ((line = br.readLine()) != null) {
}
}
I was thinking of maybe having an array, parsing the string from the text file into a integer, putting it into the array, and then have the variables equal the values from the array.
Seems like your file is a key=value structure, I suggest you'll use Properties object in java.
Here's a good example.
Your file will look like this:
player.coinBank=123
player.ammo=456
To save:
Properties prop = new Properties();
prop.setProperty("player.coinBank", player.getCoinBank());
prop.setProperty("player.ammo", player.getAmmo());
//save properties to project root folder
prop.store(new FileOutputStream("player.properties"), null);
Then you'll load it like this:
Properties prop = new Properties();
prop.load(new FileInputStream("player.properties"));
//get the property value and print it out
System.out.println(prop.getProperty("player.coinBank"));
System.out.println(prop.getProperty("player.ammo"));
Reading and writing are pretty much symmetric.
You're writing player.coinBank as the first line of the file, and player.ammo as the second line. So, when reading, you should read the first line and assign it to player.coinBank, then read the second line and assign it to player.ammo:
public void load() throws IOException{
try (BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(saves))) {
player.coinBank = br.readLine();
player.ammo = br.readLine();
}
}
Note the use of the try-with-resources statement here, which makes sure the reader is closed, whatever happens in the method. You should also use this construct when writing to the file.

Java read a file, if it doesn't exist create it

here's my code
public String path;
public String fileName;
public static void readData() throws IOException{
try {
path="myPath"
fileName="myFileName";
fstream = new FileInputStream(path+fileName);
br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(fstream));
//do something...//
}
br.close();
} catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Reading file error");
Logger.getLogger(LeggiDaFile.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
I wanted to know how to check if the fstream exists. If it doesn't exist, a new file has to be created. How can I do this?
Thanks
Here's a possible solution:
public static void readData() throws IOException
{
File file = new File(path, filename);
if (!file.isFile() && !file.createNewFile())
{
throw new IOException("Error creating new file: " + file.getAbsolutePath());
}
BufferedReader r = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file));
try
{
// read data
}finally
{
r.close();
}
}
Something's missing in your code - there's a closing brace with no corresponding opening brace.
But to answer your question, create a File object first and use exists(), then createNewFile() if exists() returns false. Pass the File object instead of the filename to the FileInputStream constructor.
BTW, it would have taken you less time to google the answer than it did to type in your question here.
To check if the file filename exists in path, you can use new File(path, filename).exists().
The exists method returns true if a file or directory exists on the filesystem for the specified File.
To verify that the file is a file and not a directory, you can use the isFile method.
See the javadoc for java.io.File for more information.
if(new File("filename").exists())
...
it should do what you want.
You are already catching FileNotFoundException and this is the very place where you know that the file you wanted to read doesn't exist and you can create it.

How to write console output to a txt file

I have tried to write the console output to a txt file using this code suggestion (http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread23883.html#) however I was not successful. What's wrong?
try {
//create a buffered reader that connects to the console, we use it so we can read lines
BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
//read a line from the console
String lineFromInput = in.readLine();
//create an print writer for writing to a file
PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter(new FileWriter("output.txt"));
//output to the file a line
out.println(lineFromInput);
//close the file (VERY IMPORTANT!)
out.close();
}
catch(IOException e1) {
System.out.println("Error during reading/writing");
}
You need to do something like this:
PrintStream out = new PrintStream(new FileOutputStream("output.txt"));
System.setOut(out);
The second statement is the key. It changes the value of the supposedly "final" System.out attribute to be the supplied PrintStream value.
There are analogous methods (setIn and setErr) for changing the standard input and error streams; refer to the java.lang.System javadocs for details.
A more general version of the above is this:
PrintStream out = new PrintStream(
new FileOutputStream("output.txt", append), autoFlush);
System.setOut(out);
If append is true, the stream will append to an existing file instead of truncating it. If autoflush is true, the output buffer will be flushed whenever a byte array is written, one of the println methods is called, or a \n is written.
I'd just like to add that it is usually a better idea to use a logging subsystem like Log4j, Logback or the standard Java java.util.logging subsystem. These offer fine-grained logging control via runtime configuration files, support for rolling log files, feeds to system logging, and so on.
Alternatively, if you are not "logging" then consider the following:
With typical shells, you can redirecting standard output (or standard error) to a file on the command line; e.g.
$ java MyApp > output.txt
For more information, refer to a shell tutorial or manual entry.
You could change your application to use an out stream passed as a method parameter or via a singleton or dependency injection rather than writing to System.out.
Changing System.out may cause nasty surprises for other code in your JVM that is not expecting this to happen. (A properly designed Java library will avoid depending on System.out and System.err, but you could be unlucky.)
There is no need to write any code, just in cmd
on the console you can write:
javac myFile.java
java ClassName > a.txt
The output data is stored in the a.txt file.
to preserve the console output, that is, write to a file and also have it displayed on the console, you could use a class like:
public class TeePrintStream extends PrintStream {
private final PrintStream second;
public TeePrintStream(OutputStream main, PrintStream second) {
super(main);
this.second = second;
}
/**
* Closes the main stream.
* The second stream is just flushed but <b>not</b> closed.
* #see java.io.PrintStream#close()
*/
#Override
public void close() {
// just for documentation
super.close();
}
#Override
public void flush() {
super.flush();
second.flush();
}
#Override
public void write(byte[] buf, int off, int len) {
super.write(buf, off, len);
second.write(buf, off, len);
}
#Override
public void write(int b) {
super.write(b);
second.write(b);
}
#Override
public void write(byte[] b) throws IOException {
super.write(b);
second.write(b);
}
}
and used as in:
FileOutputStream file = new FileOutputStream("test.txt");
TeePrintStream tee = new TeePrintStream(file, System.out);
System.setOut(tee);
(just an idea, not complete)
Create the following method:
public class Logger {
public static void log(String message) {
PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter(new FileWriter("output.txt", true), true);
out.write(message);
out.close();
}
}
(I haven't included the proper IO handling in the above class, and it won't compile - do it yourself. Also consider configuring the file name. Note the "true" argument. This means the file will not be re-created each time you call the method)
Then instead of System.out.println(str) call Logger.log(str)
This manual approach is not preferable. Use a logging framework - slf4j, log4j, commons-logging, and many more
In addition to the several programatic approaches discussed, another option is to redirect standard output from the shell. Here are several Unix and DOS examples.
You can use System.setOut() at the start of your program to redirect all output via System.out to your own PrintStream.
This is my idea of what you are trying to do and it works fine:
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException{
BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));
BufferedWriter out = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter("c://output.txt"));
try {
String inputLine = null;
do {
inputLine=in.readLine();
out.write(inputLine);
out.newLine();
} while (!inputLine.equalsIgnoreCase("eof"));
System.out.print("Write Successful");
} catch(IOException e1) {
System.out.println("Error during reading/writing");
} finally {
out.close();
in.close();
}
}
The easiest way to write console output to text file is
//create a file first
PrintWriter outputfile = new PrintWriter(filename);
//replace your System.out.print("your output");
outputfile.print("your output");
outputfile.close();
To write console output to a txt file
public static void main(String[] args) {
int i;
List<String> ls = new ArrayList<String>();
for (i = 1; i <= 100; i++) {
String str = null;
str = +i + ":- HOW TO WRITE A CONSOLE OUTPUT IN A TEXT FILE";
ls.add(str);
}
String listString = "";
for (String s : ls) {
listString += s + "\n";
}
FileWriter writer = null;
try {
writer = new FileWriter("final.txt");
writer.write(listString);
writer.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
If you want to generate the PDF rather then the text file, you use the dependency given below:
<dependency>
<groupId>com.itextpdf</groupId>
<artifactId>itextpdf</artifactId>
<version>5.0.6</version>
</dependency>
To generate a PDF, use this code:
public static void main(String[] args) {
int i;
List<String> ls = new ArrayList<String>();
for (i = 1; i <= 100; i++) {
String str = null;
str = +i + ":- HOW TO WRITE A CONSOLE OUTPUT IN A PDF";
ls.add(str);
}
String listString = "";
for (String s : ls) {
listString += s + "\n";
}
Document document = new Document();
try {
PdfWriter writer1 = PdfWriter
.getInstance(
document,
new FileOutputStream(
"final_pdf.pdf"));
document.open();
document.add(new Paragraph(listString));
document.close();
writer1.close();
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (DocumentException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
PrintWriter out = null;
try {
out = new PrintWriter(new FileWriter("C:\\testing.txt"));
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
out.println("output");
out.close();
I am using absolute path for the FileWriter. It is working for me like a charm. Also Make sure the file is present in the location. Else It will throw a FileNotFoundException. This method does not create a new file in the target location if the file is not found.
In netbeans, you can right click the mouse and then save as a .txt file. Then, based on the created .txt file, you can convert to the file in any format you want to get.

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