Chapter 16 - Files and Streams

Chapter 16 – Files and
Streams
Goals
 To be able to read and write text files
 To become familiar with the concepts of text
and binary formats
 To learn about encryption
 To understand when to use sequential and
random file access
 To be able to read and write objects using
serialization
keyboard
standard
input stream
CPU
standard
output MEM
monitor stream
terminal
console
HDD
What does information
travel across?
Streams
keyboard
standard
input stream
CPU
standard
output MEM
monitor stream
terminal file
console input
stream
LOAD HDD
What does information READ
travel across? file
files output
Streams
stream
SAVE
WRITE
Reading and Writing Text Files
 Text files – files containing simple text
 Created with editors such as notepad, html, etc.
 Simplest way to learn it so extend our use of

Scanner
 Associate with files instead of System.in
 All input classes, except Scanner, are in java.io

 import java.io.*;
Review: Scanner
 We've seen Scanner before
 The constructor takes an object of type
java.io.InputStream – stores information
about the connection between an input device
and the computer or program
 Example: System.in
 Recall – only associate one instance of
Scanner with System.in in your program
 Otherwise, get bugs
Numerical Input
 2 ways (we’ve learned one, seen the other)
 Use int as example, similar for double
 First way:
 Use nextInt()
int number = scanner.nextInt();
 Second way:
 Use nextLine(), Integer.parseInt()
String input = scanner.nextLine();
int number = Integer.parseInt(input);
Numerical Input
 Exceptions
 nextInt() throws InputMismatchException
 parseInt() throws NumberFormatException
 Optimal use
 nextInt() when there is multiple information on
one line
 nextLine() + parseInt() when one number
per line
Reading Files
 The same applies for both console input and
file input
 We can use a different version of a Scanner

that takes a File instead of System.in
 Everything works the same!

Reading Files
 To read from a disk file, construct a FileReader
 Then, use the FileReader to construct a Scanner

object
FileReader rdr = newFileReader("input.txt");

Scanner fin = new Scanner(rdr);
Reading Files
 You can use File instead of FileReader
 Has an exists() method we can call to avoid
FileNotFoundException
File file = new File ("input.txt");

Scanner fin;
if(file.exists()){
fin = new Scanner(file);
} else {
//ask for another file
}
Reading Files
 Once we have a Scanner, we can use methods
we already know:
 next, nextLine, nextInt, etc.
 Reads the information from the file instead of

console
File Class
 java.io.File
 associated with an actual file on hard drive
 used to check file's status
 Constructors
 File(<full path>)
 File(<path>, <filename>)
 Methods
 exists()
 canRead(), canWrite()
 isFile(), isDirectory()
File Class
 java.io.FileReader
 Associated with File object
 Translates data bytes from File object into a
stream of characters (much like InputStream vs.
InputStreamReader)
 Constructors
 FileReader( <File object> );
 Methods
 read(), readLine()
 close()
Writing to a File
 We will use a PrintWriter object to write to a
file
 What if file already exists?  Empty file
 Doesn’t exist?  Create empty file with that name
 How do we use a PrintWriter object?

 Have we already seen one?
Writing to a File
 The out field of the System class is a
PrintWriter object associated with the console
 We will associate our PrintWriter with a file now
PrintWriter fout = new PrintWriter("output.txt");

fout.println(29.95);
fout.println(new Rectangle(5, 10, 15, 25));
fout.println("Hello, World!");
 This will print the exact same information as with
System.out (except to a file “output.txt”)!
Closing a File
 Only main difference is that we have to close
the file stream when we are done writing
 If we do not, not all output will written
 At the end of output, call close()
fout.close();
Closing a File
 Why?
 When you call print() and/or println(), the
output is actually written to a buffer. When you
close or flush the output, the buffer is written to
the file
 The slowest part of the computer is hard drive
operations – much more efficient to write once
instead of writing repeated times
File Locations
 When determining a file name, the default is to
place in the same directory as your .class files
 If we want to define other place, use an
absolute path (e.g. c:\My Documents)
in = new
FileReader(“c:\\homework\\input.dat”);
 Why \\ ?
Sample Program
 Two things to notice:
 Have to import from java.io
 I/O requires us to catch checked exceptions
 java.io.IOException
Java Input Review
CONSOLE:
Scanner stdin = new Scanner( System.in );
FILE:
Scanner inFile = new Scanner( new

FileReader(srcFileName ));
Java Output Review
 CONSOLE:
System.out.print("To the screen");
 FILE:
PrintWriter fout =
new PrintWriter(new File("output.txt");
fout.print("To a file");
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.Scanner;
public class LineNumberer{

public static void main(String[] args){
Scanner console = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.print("Input file: ");
String inFile = console.next();
System.out.print("Output file: ");

String outFile = console.next();
try{
FileReader reader = new FileReader(inFile);
Scanner in = new Scanner(reader);
PrintWriter out = new
PrintWriter(outputFileName);
int lineNumber = 1;
while (in.hasNextLine()){
String line = in.nextLine();
out.println("/* " + lineNumber + " */ " +
line);
lineNumber++;
}
out.close();
} catch (IOException exception){
System.out.println("Error processing file: "
+ exception);
}
}
}
An Encryption Program
 Demonstration: Use encryption to show file
techniques
 File encryption
 To scramble a file so that it is readable only to
those who know the encryption method and secret
keyword
 (Big area of CS in terms of commercial
applications – biometrics, 128-bit encryption
breaking, etc.)
Modifications of Output
 Two constraints so far:
 Files are overwritten
 Output is buffered and not written immediately
 We have options to get around this

File Class
 java.io.FileWriter
 Associated with File object
 Connects an output stream to write bytes of info
 Constructors
 FileWriter( <filename>, <boolean> );
 true to append data, false to overwrite all of file
 This will overwrite an existing file

 To avoid, create File object and see if exists() is true
Java File Output
 PrintWriter
 composed from several objects
PrintWriter out =
new PrintWriter(
new FileWriter( dstFileName, false ), true );
 requires throws FileNotFoundException,
which is a sub class of IOException
 Methods
 print(), println(): buffers data to write
 flush(): sends buffered output to destination
 close(): flushes and closes stream
Java File Output
// With append to an existing file
PrintWriter outFile1 =
new PrintWriter(
new FileWriter(dstFileName,true),false);
// With autoflush on println

PrintWriter outFile2 =
new PrintWriter(
new FileWriter(dstFileName,false),true);
outFile1.println( “appended w/out flush” );

outFile2.println( “overwrite with flush” );
To flush or not to flush
 Advantage to flush:
 Safer – guaranteed that all of our data will write to
the file
 Disadvantage
 Less efficient – writing to file takes up time, more
efficient to flush once (on close)
Caeser Cipher
 Encryption key – the function to change the
value
 Simple key – shift each letter over by 1 to 25

characters
 If key = 3, A  D B  E etc.
 Decryption = reversing the encryption

 Here we just subtract the key value
Binary File Encryption
int next = in.read();
if (next == -1)
done = true;
else {
byte b = (byte) next;
//call the method to encrypt the byte
byte c = encrypt(b);
out.write(c);
}
Object Streams
 Last example read BankAccount field
individually
 Easier way to deal with whole object
 ObjectOutputStream class can save a entire
objects to disk
 ObjectOutputStream class can read objects back
in from disk
 Objects are saved in binary format; hence, you
use streams and not writers
Write out an object
 The object output stream saves all instance variables
BankAccount b = . . .;
ObjectOutputStream out = new

ObjectOutputStream( new
FileOutputStream("bank.dat"));
out.writeObject(b);
Read in an object
 readObject returns an Object reference
 Need to remember the types of the objects that
you saved and use a cast
ObjectInputStream in = new
ObjectInputStream( new
FileInputStream("bank.dat"));
BankAccount b = (BankAccount) in.readObject();
Exceptions
 readObject method can throw a
ClassNotFoundException
 It is a checked exception
 You must catch or declare it

Writing an Array
 Usually want to write out a collection of
objects:
BankAccount[] arr = new BankAccount[size];
// Now add size BankAccount objects into arr

out.writeObject(arr);
Reading an Array
 To read a set of objects into an array
BankAccount[] ary = (BankAccount[])

in.readObject();
Object Streams
 Very powerful features
 Especially considering how little we have to do
 The BankAccount class as is actually will not

work with the stream
 Must implement Serializable interface in order
for the formatting to work
Object Streams
class BankAccount implements Serializable
{
. . .
}
 IMPORTANT: Serializable interface has no

methods.
 No effort required
Serialization
 Serialization: process of saving objects to a
stream
 Each object is assigned a serial number on the
stream
 If the same object is saved twice, only serial
number is written out the second time
 When reading, duplicate serial numbers are
restored as references to the same object
Serialization
 Why isn’t everything serializable?
 Security reasons – may not want contents of

objects printed out to disk, then anyone can print
out internal structure and analyze it
 Example: Don’t want SSN ever being accessed
 Could also have temporary variables that are

useless once the program is done running
Tokenizing
 Often several text values are in a single line in
a file to be compact
“25 38 36 34 29 60 59”
 The line must be broken into parts (i.e. tokens)

“25”
“38”
“36”
 tokens then can be parsed as needed

“25” can be turned into the integer 25
Tokenizing
 Inputting each value on a new line makes the
file very long
 May want a file of customer info – name, age,

phone number all on one line
 File usually separate each piece of info with a

delimiter – any special character designating a
new piece of data (space in previous example)
Tokenizing in Java
 use a StringTokenizer object
 default delimiters are: space, tab, newline, return
 requires: import java.util.*
 Constructors
 StringTokenizer(String line)//default dlms
 StringTokenizer(String ln, String dlms)
 Methods
 hasMoreTokens()
 nextToken()
 countTokens()
StringTokenizing in Java
Scanner stdin = new…
System.out.print( "Enter a line with comma
seperated integers(no space): " );
String input = stdin.nextLine();
StringTokenizer st;
String delims = ",";
st = new StringTokenizer( input, delims );
while ( st.hasMoreTokens() )
{
int n = Integer.parseInt(st.nextToken());
System.out.println(n);
}
File gradeFile = new File(“scores.txt”);
if(gradeFile.exists()){
Scanner inFile = new Scanner(gradeFile);
String line = inFile.nextLine();
while(line != null){
StringTokenizer st = new
StringTokenizer(line, ":");
System.out.print(" Name: " + st.nextToken());
int num = 0;
double sum = 0;
while ( st.hasMoreTokens() )
{
num++;
sum += Integer.parseInt(st.nextToken());
}
System.our.println(" average = "+ sum/num);
line = inFile.nextLine();
}
inFile.close();
}
If you call nextToken() and there are no more

tokens, NoSuchElementException is thrown
Tokenizing
 Scanner tokenizes already…
Scanner in = new Scanner(…);

while(in.hasNext()) {
String str = in.next();
…
}

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Chapter 16 – Files and

 Simplest way to learn it so extend our use of

 All input classes, except Scanner, are in java.io

 We can use a different version of a Scanner

 Everything works the same!

 Then, use the FileReader to construct a Scanner

FileReader rdr = newFileReader("input.txt");

File file = new File ("input.txt");

 Reads the information from the file instead of

 How do we use a PrintWriter object?

PrintWriter fout = new PrintWriter("output.txt");

 If we do not, not all output will written

 At the end of output, call close()

Scanner stdin = new Scanner( System.in );

Scanner inFile = new Scanner( new

System.out.print("To the screen");

public class LineNumberer{

System.out.print("Output file: ");

 We have options to get around this

 This will overwrite an existing file

// With autoflush on println

outFile1.println( “appended w/out flush” );

 Simple key – shift each letter over by 1 to 25

 Decryption = reversing the encryption

ObjectOutputStream out = new

 You must catch or declare it

BankAccount[] arr = new BankAccount[size];

// Now add size BankAccount objects into arr

BankAccount[] ary = (BankAccount[])

 The BankAccount class as is actually will not

 IMPORTANT: Serializable interface has no

 Security reasons – may not want contents of

 Could also have temporary variables that are

 The line must be broken into parts (i.e. tokens)

 tokens then can be parsed as needed

 May want a file of customer info – name, age,

 File usually separate each piece of info with a

String line = inFile.nextLine();

If you call nextToken() and there are no more

Scanner in = new Scanner(…);

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