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File I/O in Java 8 Part 2:

Using Lambdas and Generic Types to Make
File-Reading Code More Flexible, Reusable, and Testable

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Slides 2016 Marty Hall, [email protected]

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complete source code for all examples in this tutorial series, plus exercises and exercise solutions for each topic.

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complete source code for all examples in this tutorial series, plus exercises and exercise solutions for each topic.
 Topics in This Section
File Reading: Second Variation
Split file-reading part from Stream-processing part
File Reading: Third Variation
Use lambdas to avoid repeating boilerplate code
File Reading: Fourth Variation
Use generic types to flexibly return values
Using varargs for Predicate<T>
Conclusion: fancy lambda techniques fancy file I/O techniques

File Reading Variations

General principle
Streams help make handling large data sets more convenient and efficient
Lambdas and generic types help make code more flexible and reusable
Variation 1 (last section)
Put all code inside main; main throws Exception
Simple and easy, but not reusable
Variation 2
Method 1 handles Stream; method 2 calls Files.lines and passes Stream to method 1
Reusable, but each version of method 2 repeats a lot of boilerplate code
Variation 3
Define a functional interface and a static method that can use lambdas
Method 1 handles Stream; method 2 passes filename and lambda to static method
Variation 4
Similar to variation 3, but uses generic types so that values can be returned
5
coreservlets.com custom onsite training

File Reading:
Second
Variation
Slides 2016 Marty Hall, [email protected]

For additional materials, please see http://www.coreservlets.com/. The Java tutorial section contains
complete source code for all examples in this tutorial series, plus exercises and exercise solutions for each topic.

Simple Script vs. Reusable Method

For simple script, do everything in main
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
Files.lines(Paths.get("input-file"))
.map(someFunction)
.filter(someTest)
.someOtherStreamOperation(...);
}

For reusable methods, break processing into two pieces

First method takes a Stream<String>
This can be tested and reused independently of the file
Second method calls Files.lines and passes the result to the first method
But also has try/catch block to handle problems and to automatically close the file
7
stream when done
 Why Split the Processing?
Why use two methods?
One that processes a Stream
One that uses Files.lines to build a Stream<String>, and passes it to first method
Benefits to splitting
Simpler testing. You can test the first method with simple Stream created with
Stream.of or someList.stream().
More reusable. The first method can be used for Streams created from other sources.
More flexible. The first method can take a Stream<T>, where T is a generic type,
and thus can be used for a variety of purposes, not just String processing.
Better error handling. Uses try/catch blocks instead of main throwing Exception.
Better memory usage. Stream is closed when done.

Variation 2: General Approach

public static void useStream(Stream<String> lines, ...) {
lines.filter(...).map(...)...;
}

public static void useFile(String filename, ...) {

try(Stream<String> lines = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
SomeClass.useStream(lines, ...);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
}
}

9
 Example 1: Printing All Palindromes
public class FileUtils {
public static void printAllPalindromes(Stream<String> words) {
words.filter(StringUtils::isPalindrome)
.forEach(System.out::println);
}

public static void printAllPalindromes(String filename) {

try(Stream<String> words = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
printAllPalindromes(words);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
}
}
}
10

Example 1: Printing All Palindromes

public static void main(String[] args) {
String filename = "enable1-word-list.txt";
if (args.length > 0) { Output
filename = args[0]; All palindromes in list [bog, bob, dam, dad]:
bob
} dad
All palindromes in file enable1-word-list.txt:
testAllPalindromes(filename); aa
aba
} ...

public static void testAllPalindromes(String filename) {

List<String> testWords = Arrays.asList("bog", "bob", "dam", "dad");
System.out.printf("All palindromes in list %s:%n", testWords);
FileUtils.printAllPalindromes(testWords.stream());
System.out.printf("All palindromes in file %s:%n", filename);
FileUtils.printAllPalindromes(filename);
}
11
 Example 2: Printing N-Length Palindromes
public static void printPalindromes(Stream<String> words,
int length) {
words.filter(word -> word.length() == length)
.filter(StringUtils::isPalindrome)
.forEach(System.out::println);
}

public static void printPalindromes(String filename, int length) {

try(Stream<String> words = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
printPalindromes(words, length);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
}
}
12

Example 2: Printing N-Length Palindromes

public static void main(String[] args) {
String filename = "enable1-word-list.txt";
if (args.length > 0) { Output
3-letter palindromes in list [bog, bob, dam, dad, kook, noon]:
filename = args[0]; bob
dad
} 3-letter palindromes in file enable1-word-list.txt:
aba
test3LetterPalindromes(filename); aga
...
}
public static void test3LetterPalindromes(String filename) {
List<String> testWords =
Arrays.asList("bog", "bob", "dam", "dad", "kook", "noon");
System.out.printf("3-letter palindromes in list %s:%n", testWords);
FileUtils.printPalindromes(testWords.stream(), 3);
System.out.printf("3-letter palindromes in file %s:%n", filename);
FileUtils.printPalindromes(filename, 3);
}
13
 Repetitive Code: File-Processing Methods
public static void printAllPalindromes(String filename) {
try(Stream<String> words = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
printAllPalindromes(words);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
}
}

public static void printPalindromes(String filename, int length) {

try(Stream<String> words = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
printPalindromes(words, length);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
}
14
}

Pros/Cons of Second Variation

Stream-processing method: good news
Can be tested with any Stream<String>, not only with file
Depending on operations used, could be rewritten to take a Stream<T>
File-processing method: good news
Filename passed in, not hardcoded
Errors handled explicitly
Stream closed automatically
File-processing method: bad news
Contains lots of tedious boilerplate code that must be repeated for each application
90% of code on previous slide was repeated
Hint for next variation: we had same problem when using Arrays.sort
We used lambdas to avoid the repetition

15
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File Reading:
Third Variation
Slides 2016 Marty Hall, [email protected]

For additional materials, please see http://www.coreservlets.com/. The Java tutorial section contains
complete source code for all examples in this tutorial series, plus exercises and exercise solutions for each topic.

Third Variation: Overview

Previous variation
Method that takes Stream<String> or Stream<T> and performs general Stream ops
Good in every way
Method that takes filename, makes Stream<String>, passes it to first method
Good in some ways: the filename is passed in, errors are handled explicitly, and the
Stream is always closed
Bad in some ways: repeats the Path creation, Stream creation, and error handling
each time
New variation
Method that takes Stream<String> or Stream<T> and performs general Stream ops
Exactly the same as above
Method that takes filename, then calls static method with that filename and a
lambda or method reference designating the above method
Requires us to create a new functional interface with abstract method that takes a
Stream<String> and static method that does the boilerplate code
17
 Use Lambdas to Reuse Repeated Code
New interface: StreamProcessor
Abstract method takes a Stream<String>
Static method takes filename and instance of the interface (usually as a lambda),
calls Files.lines, and passes result to the abstract method. Uses try/catch block and
try-with-resources.

Stream-processing method
Same as before: processes Stream<String>
File-processing method
Calls static method with two arguments:
Filename
Lambda designating the method that should get the Stream<String> that will come
from the file
18

Variation 3: General Approach

public static void useStream(Stream<String> lines) {
lines.filter(...).map(...)...;
}

public static void useFile(String filename) {

StreamProcessor.processFile(filename, SomeClass::useStream);
}

We must define this static method. In order to pass in a method reference or explicit lambda here, the
method must take a functional (1-abstract-method) interface as its
second argument. We must define that interface, and its single method
must take a Stream<String>.

19
 Variation 3: StreamProcessor Interface
@FunctionalInterface This is the single abstract method of the interface. Since it takes a Stream<String> as
argument, we can supply a method reference or lambda that refers to a method that
takes a Stream<String>, as with SomeClass::useStream on previous slide.
public interface StreamProcessor {
void processStream(Stream<String> strings);

public static void processFile(String filename,

StreamProcessor processor) {
try(Stream<String> lines = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
processor.processStream(lines);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
}
}
} A call to this static method will be the body of the file-processing methods. It will be supplied
the filename and a method reference that points to the stream-processing method.

20

Variation 1: Printing All Palindromes

public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
String inputFile = "enable1-word-list.txt";
Files.lines(Paths.get(inputFile))
.filter(StringUtils::isPalindrome)
.forEach(System.out::println);
}

21
 Variation 2: Printing All Palindromes
public class FileUtils {
public static void printAllPalindromes(Stream<String> words) {
words.filter(StringUtils::isPalindrome)
.forEach(System.out::println);
}

public static void printAllPalindromes(String filename) {

try(Stream<String> words = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
printAllPalindromes(words);
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
}
}
}
22

Variation 3: Printing All Palindromes

public static void printAllPalindromes(Stream<String> words) {
words.filter(StringUtils::isPalindrome)
.forEach(System.out::println);
}

public static void printAllPalindromes(String filename) {

StreamProcessor.processFile(filename,
FileUtils::printAllPalindromes);
}

23
 Printing All Palindromes (Test Code)
public static void testAllPalindromes(String filename) {
List<String> testWords =
Arrays.asList("bog", "bob", "dam", "dad");
System.out.printf("All palindromes in list %s:%n", testWords);
FileUtils.printAllPalindromes(testWords.stream());
System.out.printf("All palindromes in file %s:%n", filename);
FileUtils.printAllPalindromes(filename);
}

Output
All palindromes in list [bog, bob, dam, dad]:
bob
dad
All palindromes in file enable1-word-list.txt:
aa
aba
...

24

Printing N-Length Palindromes

public static void printPalindromes(Stream<String> words,
int length) {
words.filter(word -> word.length() == length)
.filter(StringUtils::isPalindrome)
.forEach(System.out::println);
}

public static void printPalindromes(String filename,

int length) {
StreamProcessor.processFile(filename,
lines -> printPalindromes(lines, length));
}

25
 Printing N-Length Palindromes (Test Code)
public static void testPalindromes(String filename, int... lengths) {
List<String> testWords =
Arrays.asList("rob", "bob", "reed", "deed");
for(int length: lengths) {
System.out.printf("%s-letter palindromes in list %s:%n",
length, testWords);
FileUtils.printPalindromes(testWords.stream(), length);
System.out.printf("%s-letter palindromes in file %s:%n",
length, filename);
FileUtils.printPalindromes(filename, length);
Output
} 3-letter palindromes in list [rob, bob, reed, deed]:
bob
} 3-letter palindromes in file enable1-word-list.txt:
aba
...
4-letter palindromes in list [rob, bob, reed, deed]:
deed
4-letter palindromes in file enable1-word-list.txt:
abba
26 ...

Pros/Cons of Third Variation

Stream-processing method: good news (same as before)
Can be tested with any Stream<String>, not only with file
Depending on operations used, could be rewritten to take a Stream<T>
File-processing method: good news
Filename passed in, not hardcoded
Errors handled explicitly
Stream closed automatically
No repetition of the code that reads the file and handles the exception
File-processing method: bad news
The stream-processing method had to have a void return type
I.e., it simply did side effects, not returned a value
Hint for next variation: in normal Java code, what do we do when we want to refer
to a value, but we dont know what type the value is?
27 Use generic types
coreservlets.com custom onsite training

File Reading:
Fourth Variation
Slides 2016 Marty Hall, [email protected]

For additional materials, please see http://www.coreservlets.com/. The Java tutorial section contains
complete source code for all examples in this tutorial series, plus exercises and exercise solutions for each topic.

Overview
Previous variation
Method that takes Stream<String> or Stream<T> and performs general Stream ops
No value returned
Method that takes filename, then calls static method with that filename and a
lambda or method reference designating the above method
This assumes that the above method has void return type
New variation
Method that takes Stream<String> or Stream<T> , performs general Stream ops,
and returns a value
Method that takes filename, then returns a value that is the result of calling a static
method with that filename and a lambda or method reference designating the above
method
This method now returns whatever the above method would return

29
 Variation 4: General Approach
public static SomeType getValueFromStream(Stream<String> lines) {
return(lines.filter(...).map(...)...);
}

public static SomeType getValueFromStream (String filename) {

return
StreamAnalyzer.analyzeFile(filename,
SomeClass::getValueFromStream);
}
As before, we need to define this static method.

As before, we will have to define a functional (1-abstract-method)

interface to be used here. As before, the abstract method will take a
Stream<String> as an argument, but this time it will have a generic
return type instead of a void return type.

30

Variation 4: StreamAnalyzer Interface

@FunctionalInterface
public interface StreamAnalyzer<T> {
T analyzeStream(Stream<String> strings);

public static <T> T analyzeFile(String filename,

StreamAnalyzer<T> analyzer) {
try(Stream<String> lines = Files.lines(Paths.get(filename))) {
return(analyzer.analyzeStream(lines));
} catch(IOException ioe) {
System.err.println("Error reading file: " + ioe);
return(null);
}
}
}
31
 Example: First Palindrome
public static String firstPalindrome(Stream<String> words) {
return(words.filter(StringUtils::isPalindrome)
.findFirst()
.orElse(null));
}

public static String firstPalindrome(String filename) {

return(StreamAnalyzer.analyzeFile(filename,
FileUtils::firstPalindrome));
}

32

First Palindrome (Test Code)

public static void testFirstPalindrome(String filename) {
List<String> testWords =
Arrays.asList("bog", "bob", "dam", "dad");
String firstPalindrome =
FileUtils.firstPalindrome(testWords.stream());
System.out.printf("First palindrome in list %s is %s.%n",
testWords, firstPalindrome);
firstPalindrome = FileUtils.firstPalindrome(filename);
System.out.printf("First palindrome in file %s is %s.%n",
filename, firstPalindrome);
}

Output
First palindrome in list [bog, bob, dam, dad] is bob.
First palindrome in file enable1-word-list.txt is aa.
33
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Advanced Option:
Combining Predicates
Slides 2016 Marty Hall, [email protected]

For additional materials, please see http://www.coreservlets.com/. The Java tutorial section contains
complete source code for all examples in this tutorial series, plus exercises and exercise solutions for each topic.

Overview: Common Pattern

Finding one value
stream.filter(test1).filter(test2).filter(test3)...
.findFirst().orElse(null);
Finding a List of values
stream.filter(test1).filter(test2).filter(test3)...
.collect(Collectors.toList());
Problem in both cases
You do not know how many filter operations will be done
Solution
Use varargs
Allow any number of Predicates
Combine them into a single Predicate that can be used in a single call to filter
No need to limit this part to Stream<String>
35
 Predicate Combiner
public class FileUtils {
@SafeVarargs
public static <T> Predicate<T> combinedPredicate
(Predicate<T>... tests) {
Predicate<T> result = e -> true;
for(Predicate<T> test: tests) {
result = result.and(test);
}
Given any number (including 0) Predicates, this static method produces a single Predicate, that, for a given
return(result); argument, returns true only when all the other Predicates would have returned true.

}
...
} @SafeVarargs is difficult to understand. The issue is that it is not always safe to use varargs for generic types: the resultant array can
have runtime type problems if you modify entries in it. But, if you only read the values and never modify them, varargs is perfectly safe.
@SafeVarargs says I am not doing anything dangerous, please suppress the compiler warnings.
For details, see http://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/language/non-reifiable-varargs.html

36

Directly Applying Predicate Combiner

(Main Methods)
@SafeVarargs
public static int letterCount(Stream<String> words,
Predicate<String>... tests) {
Predicate<String> combinedTest = FileUtils.combinedPredicate(tests);
return(words.filter(combinedTest)
.mapToInt(String::length)
.sum());
}

@SafeVarargs
public static Integer letterCount(String filename,
Predicate<String>... tests) {
return(StreamAnalyzer.analyzeFile(filename,
stream -> letterCount(stream, tests)));
}
37
 Directly Applying Combiner (Test Code)
public static void testLetterCount(String filename) {
List<String> testWords = Arrays.asList("hi", "hello", "hola");
System.out.printf("In list %s:%n", testWords);
int sum1 = FileUtils.letterCount(testWords.stream(),
word -> word.contains("h"),
word -> !word.contains("i"));
printLetterCountResult(sum1, "contain h but not i");
System.out.printf("In file %s:%n", filename);
int sum2 = FileUtils.letterCount(filename, StringUtils::isPalindrome);
printLetterCountResult(sum2, "are palindromes");
int sum3 = FileUtils.letterCount(filename,
word -> word.contains("q"),
word -> !word.contains("qu"));
printLetterCountResult(sum3, "contain q but not qu");
int sum4 = FileUtils.letterCount(filename, word -> true);
printLetterCountResult(sum4, "are in English language");
}

private static void printLetterCountResult(int sum, String message) {

System.out.printf(" %,d total letters in words that %s.%n", sum, message);
38
}

Directly Applying Combiner (Results)

In list [hi, hello, hola]:
9 total letters in words that contain h but not i.
In file enable1-word-list.txt:
417 total letters in words that are palindromes.
163 total letters in words that contain q but not qu.
1,570,550 total letters in words that are in English language.

39
 Indirectly Applying Combiner: firstMatch
@SafeVarargs
public static <T> T firstMatch(Stream<T> elements,
Predicate<T>... tests) {
Predicate<T> combinedTest = FileUtils.combinedPredicate(tests);
return(elements.filter(combinedTest)
.findFirst()
.orElse(null));
}

@SafeVarargs
public static String firstMatch(String filename,
Predicate<String>... tests) {
return(StreamAnalyzer.analyzeFile(filename,
stream -> firstMatch(stream, tests)));
}
40

Applying firstMatch
public static void testFirstMatch(String filename) {
List<Integer> testNums = Arrays.asList(1, 10, 2, 20, 3, 30);
Integer match1 = FileUtils.firstMatch(testNums.stream(),
n -> n > 2,
n -> n < 10,
n -> n % 2 == 1);
System.out.printf("First word in list %s that is greater " +
"than 2, less than 10, and odd is %s.%n",
testNums, match1);
String match2 = FileUtils.firstMatch(filename,
word -> word.contains("q"),
word -> !word.contains("qu"));
System.out.printf("First word in file %s with q but " +
"not u is %s.%n", filename, match2);
}
Output
First word in list [1, 10, 2, 20, 3, 30] that is greater than 2, less than 10, and odd is 3.
41 First word in file enable1-word-list.txt with q but not u is buqsha.
 Indirectly Applying Combiner: allMatches
@SafeVarargs
public static <T> List<T> allMatches(Stream<T> elements,
Predicate<T>... tests) {
Predicate<T> combinedTest = FileUtils.combinedPredicate(tests);
return(elements.filter(combinedTest)
.collect(Collectors.toList()));
}

@SafeVarargs
public static List<String> allMatches(String filename,
Predicate<String>... tests) {
return(StreamAnalyzer.analyzeFile(filename,
stream -> allMatches(stream, tests)));
}
42

Applying allMatches
public static void testAllMatches(String filename) {
List<Integer> testNums = Arrays.asList(2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12);
List<Integer> matches1 = FileUtils.allMatches(testNums.stream(),
n -> n > 5,
n -> n < 10);
System.out.printf("All numbers in list %s that are " +
"greater than 5 and less than 10: %s.%n",
testNums, matches1);
List<String> matches2 = FileUtils.allMatches(filename,
word -> word.contains("q"),
word -> !word.contains("qu"));
System.out.printf("All words in file %s with q " +
"but not u: %s.%n", filename, matches2);
}
Output
All numbers in list [2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12] that are greater than 5 and less than 10: [6, 8].
All words in file enable1-word-list.txt with q but not u: [buqsha, buqshas, faqir, ...].
43
coreservlets.com custom onsite training

Wrap-Up
Slides 2016 Marty Hall, [email protected]

For additional materials, please see http://www.coreservlets.com/. The Java tutorial section contains
complete source code for all examples in this tutorial series, plus exercises and exercise solutions for each topic.

Summary
Variation 1 (last section)
Put all code inside main; main throws Exception
Simple and easy, but not reusable
Variation 2
Method 1 handles Stream; method 2 calls Files.lines and passes Stream to method 1
Reusable, but each version of method 2 repeats a lot of boilerplate code
Variation 3
Use lambdas to avoid the repetition
Variation 4
Use generic types so that values can be returned
Varargs for combining Predicates
Point: fancy Stream-processing becomes fancy file processing
45
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For additional materials, please see http://www.coreservlets.com/. The Java tutorial section contains
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