Class File

Method Details

• getName

  public String getName()

  Returns the name of the file or directory denoted by this abstract pathname. This is just the last name in the pathname's name sequence. If the pathname's name sequence is empty, then the empty string is returned.

  Returns:

  The name of the file or directory denoted by this abstract pathname, or the empty string if this pathname's name sequence is empty

• getParent

  public String getParent()

  Returns the pathname string of this abstract pathname's parent, or null if this pathname does not name a parent directory.

  The parent of an abstract pathname consists of the pathname's prefix, if any, and each name in the pathname's name sequence except for the last. If the name sequence is empty then the pathname does not name a parent directory.

  Returns:

  The pathname string of the parent directory named by this abstract pathname, or null if this pathname does not name a parent

• getParentFile

  public File getParentFile()

  Returns the abstract pathname of this abstract pathname's parent, or null if this pathname does not name a parent directory.

  The parent of an abstract pathname consists of the pathname's prefix, if any, and each name in the pathname's name sequence except for the last. If the name sequence is empty then the pathname does not name a parent directory.

  Returns:

  The abstract pathname of the parent directory named by this abstract pathname, or null if this pathname does not name a parent

  Since:

  1.2

• getPath

  public String getPath()

  Converts this abstract pathname into a pathname string. The resulting string uses the default name-separator character to separate the names in the name sequence.

  Returns:

  The string form of this abstract pathname

• isAbsolute

  public boolean isAbsolute()

  Tests whether this abstract pathname is absolute. The definition of absolute pathname is system dependent. On UNIX systems, a pathname is absolute if its prefix is "/". On Microsoft Windows systems, a pathname is absolute if its prefix is a drive specifier followed by "\\", or if its prefix is "\\\\".

  Returns:

  true if this abstract pathname is absolute, false otherwise

• getAbsolutePath

  public String getAbsolutePath()

  Returns the absolute pathname string of this abstract pathname.

  If this abstract pathname is already absolute, then the pathname string is simply returned as if by the getPath() method. If this abstract pathname is the empty abstract pathname then the pathname string of the current user directory, which is named by the system property user.dir, is returned. Otherwise this pathname is resolved in a system-dependent way. On UNIX systems, a relative pathname is made absolute by resolving it against the current user directory. On Microsoft Windows systems, a relative pathname is made absolute by resolving it against the current directory of the drive named by the pathname, if any; if not, it is resolved against the current user directory.

  Returns:

  The absolute pathname string denoting the same file or directory as this abstract pathname

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a required system property value cannot be accessed.

  See Also:

  • isAbsolute()

• getAbsoluteFile

  public File getAbsoluteFile()

  Returns the absolute form of this abstract pathname. Equivalent to new File(this.getAbsolutePath()).

  Returns:

  The absolute abstract pathname denoting the same file or directory as this abstract pathname

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a required system property value cannot be accessed.

  Since:

  1.2

• getCanonicalPath

  public String getCanonicalPath() throws IOException

  Returns the canonical pathname string of this abstract pathname.

  A canonical pathname is both absolute and unique. The precise definition of canonical form is system-dependent. This method first converts this pathname to absolute form if necessary, as if by invoking the getAbsolutePath() method, and then maps it to its unique form in a system-dependent way. This typically involves removing redundant names such as "." and ".." from the pathname, resolving symbolic links (on UNIX platforms), and converting drive letters to a standard case (on Microsoft Windows platforms).

  Every pathname that denotes an existing file or directory has a unique canonical form. Every pathname that denotes a nonexistent file or directory also has a unique canonical form. The canonical form of the pathname of a nonexistent file or directory may be different from the canonical form of the same pathname after the file or directory is created. Similarly, the canonical form of the pathname of an existing file or directory may be different from the canonical form of the same pathname after the file or directory is deleted.

  Returns:

  The canonical pathname string denoting the same file or directory as this abstract pathname

  Throws:

  IOException - If an I/O error occurs, which is possible because the construction of the canonical pathname may require filesystem queries

  SecurityException - If a required system property value cannot be accessed, or if a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.io.FileDescriptor) method denies read access to the file

  Since:

  1.1

  See Also:

  • Path.toRealPath(java.nio.file.LinkOption...)

• getCanonicalFile

  public File getCanonicalFile() throws IOException

  Returns the canonical form of this abstract pathname. Equivalent to new File(this.getCanonicalPath()).

  Returns:

  The canonical pathname string denoting the same file or directory as this abstract pathname

  Throws:

  IOException - If an I/O error occurs, which is possible because the construction of the canonical pathname may require filesystem queries

  SecurityException - If a required system property value cannot be accessed, or if a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.io.FileDescriptor) method denies read access to the file

  Since:

  1.2

  See Also:

  • Path.toRealPath(java.nio.file.LinkOption...)

• toURL

  @Deprecated public URL toURL() throws MalformedURLException

  Deprecated.

  This method does not automatically escape characters that are illegal in URLs. It is recommended that new code convert an abstract pathname into a URL by first converting it into a URI, via the toURI method, and then converting the URI into a URL via the URI.toURL method.

  Converts this abstract pathname into a file: URL. The exact form of the URL is system-dependent. If it can be determined that the file denoted by this abstract pathname is a directory, then the resulting URL will end with a slash.

  Returns:

  A URL object representing the equivalent file URL

  Throws:

  MalformedURLException - If the path cannot be parsed as a URL

  Since:

  1.2

  See Also:

  • toURI()
  • URI
  • URI.toURL()
  • URL

• toURI

  public URI toURI()

  Constructs a file: URI that represents this abstract pathname.

  The exact form of the URI is system-dependent. If it can be determined that the file denoted by this abstract pathname is a directory, then the resulting URI will end with a slash.

  For a given abstract pathname f, it is guaranteed that

  new File( f.toURI()).equals(  f.getAbsoluteFile())

  so long as the original abstract pathname, the URI, and the new abstract pathname are all created in (possibly different invocations of) the same Java virtual machine. Due to the system-dependent nature of abstract pathnames, however, this relationship typically does not hold when a file: URI that is created in a virtual machine on one operating system is converted into an abstract pathname in a virtual machine on a different operating system.

  Note that when this abstract pathname represents a UNC pathname then all components of the UNC (including the server name component) are encoded in the URI path. The authority component is undefined, meaning that it is represented as null. The Path class defines the toUri method to encode the server name in the authority component of the resulting URI. The toPath method may be used to obtain a Path representing this abstract pathname.

  Returns:

  An absolute, hierarchical URI with a scheme equal to "file", a path representing this abstract pathname, and undefined authority, query, and fragment components

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a required system property value cannot be accessed.

  Since:

  1.4

  See Also:

  • File(java.net.URI)
  • URI
  • URI.toURL()

• canRead

  public boolean canRead()

  Tests whether the application can read the file denoted by this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to read files that are marked as unreadable. Consequently, this method may return true even though the file does not have read permissions.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the file specified by this abstract pathname exists and can be read by the application; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method denies read access to the file

• canWrite

  public boolean canWrite()

  Tests whether the application can modify the file denoted by this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to modify files that are marked read-only. Consequently, this method may return true even though the file is marked read-only.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the file system actually contains a file denoted by this abstract pathname and the application is allowed to write to the file; false otherwise.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the file

• exists

  public boolean exists()

  Tests whether the file or directory denoted by this abstract pathname exists.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the file or directory denoted by this abstract pathname exists; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method denies read access to the file or directory

• isDirectory

  public boolean isDirectory()

  Tests whether the file denoted by this abstract pathname is a directory.

  Where it is required to distinguish an I/O exception from the case that the file is not a directory, or where several attributes of the same file are required at the same time, then the Files.readAttributes method may be used.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the file denoted by this abstract pathname exists and is a directory; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method denies read access to the file

• isFile

  public boolean isFile()

  Tests whether the file denoted by this abstract pathname is a normal file. A file is normal if it is not a directory and, in addition, satisfies other system-dependent criteria. Any non-directory file created by a Java application is guaranteed to be a normal file.

  Where it is required to distinguish an I/O exception from the case that the file is not a normal file, or where several attributes of the same file are required at the same time, then the Files.readAttributes method may be used.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the file denoted by this abstract pathname exists and is a normal file; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method denies read access to the file

• isHidden

  public boolean isHidden()

  Tests whether the file named by this abstract pathname is a hidden file. The exact definition of hidden is system-dependent. On UNIX systems, a file is considered to be hidden if its name begins with a period character ('.'). On Microsoft Windows systems, a file is considered to be hidden if it has been marked as such in the filesystem.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the file denoted by this abstract pathname is hidden according to the conventions of the underlying platform

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method denies read access to the file

  Since:

  1.2

• lastModified

  public long lastModified()

  Returns the time that the file denoted by this abstract pathname was last modified.

  API Note:

  While the unit of time of the return value is milliseconds, the granularity of the value depends on the underlying file system and may be larger. For example, some file systems use time stamps in units of seconds.

  Where it is required to distinguish an I/O exception from the case where 0L is returned, or where several attributes of the same file are required at the same time, or where the time of last access or the creation time are required, then the Files.readAttributes method may be used. If however only the time of last modification is required, then the Files.getLastModifiedTime method may be used instead.

  Returns:

  A long value representing the time the file was last modified, measured in milliseconds since the epoch (00:00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970), or 0L if the file does not exist or if an I/O error occurs. The value may be negative indicating the number of milliseconds before the epoch

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method denies read access to the file

• length

  public long length()

  Returns the length of the file denoted by this abstract pathname. The return value is unspecified if this pathname denotes a directory.

  Where it is required to distinguish an I/O exception from the case that 0L is returned, or where several attributes of the same file are required at the same time, then the Files.readAttributes method may be used.

  Returns:

  The length, in bytes, of the file denoted by this abstract pathname, or 0L if the file does not exist. Some operating systems may return 0L for pathnames denoting system-dependent entities such as devices or pipes.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method denies read access to the file

• createNewFile

  public boolean createNewFile() throws IOException

  Atomically creates a new, empty file named by this abstract pathname if and only if a file with this name does not yet exist. The check for the existence of the file and the creation of the file if it does not exist are a single operation that is atomic with respect to all other filesystem activities that might affect the file.

  Note: this method should not be used for file-locking, as the resulting protocol cannot be made to work reliably. The FileLock facility should be used instead.

  Returns:

  true if the named file does not exist and was successfully created; false if the named file already exists

  Throws:

  IOException - If an I/O error occurred

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the file

  Since:

  1.2

• delete

  public boolean delete()

  Deletes the file or directory denoted by this abstract pathname. If this pathname denotes a directory, then the directory must be empty in order to be deleted.

  Note that the Files class defines the delete method to throw an IOException when a file cannot be deleted. This is useful for error reporting and to diagnose why a file cannot be deleted.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the file or directory is successfully deleted; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkDelete(java.lang.String) method denies delete access to the file

• deleteOnExit

  public void deleteOnExit()

  Requests that the file or directory denoted by this abstract pathname be deleted when the virtual machine terminates. Files (or directories) are deleted in the reverse order that they are registered. Invoking this method to delete a file or directory that is already registered for deletion has no effect. Deletion will be attempted only for normal termination of the virtual machine, as defined by the Java Language Specification.

  Once deletion has been requested, it is not possible to cancel the request. This method should therefore be used with care.

  Note: this method should not be used for file-locking, as the resulting protocol cannot be made to work reliably. The FileLock facility should be used instead.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkDelete(java.lang.String) method denies delete access to the file

  Since:

  1.2

  See Also:

  • delete()

• list

  public String[] list()

  Returns an array of strings naming the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname.

  If this abstract pathname does not denote a directory, then this method returns null. Otherwise an array of strings is returned, one for each file or directory in the directory. Names denoting the directory itself and the directory's parent directory are not included in the result. Each string is a file name rather than a complete path.

  There is no guarantee that the name strings in the resulting array will appear in any specific order; they are not, in particular, guaranteed to appear in alphabetical order.

  Note that the Files class defines the newDirectoryStream method to open a directory and iterate over the names of the files in the directory. This may use less resources when working with very large directories, and may be more responsive when working with remote directories.

  Returns:

  An array of strings naming the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname. The array will be empty if the directory is empty. Returns null if this abstract pathname does not denote a directory, or if an I/O error occurs.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the directory

• list

  public String[] list(FilenameFilter filter)

  Returns an array of strings naming the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname that satisfy the specified filter. The behavior of this method is the same as that of the list() method, except that the strings in the returned array must satisfy the filter. If the given filter is null then all names are accepted. Otherwise, a name satisfies the filter if and only if the value true results when the FilenameFilter.accept(File, String) method of the filter is invoked on this abstract pathname and the name of a file or directory in the directory that it denotes.

  Parameters:

  filter - A filename filter

  Returns:

  An array of strings naming the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname that were accepted by the given filter. The array will be empty if the directory is empty or if no names were accepted by the filter. Returns null if this abstract pathname does not denote a directory, or if an I/O error occurs.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the directory

  See Also:

  • Files.newDirectoryStream(Path,String)

• listFiles

  public File[] listFiles()

  Returns an array of abstract pathnames denoting the files in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname.

  If this abstract pathname does not denote a directory, then this method returns null. Otherwise an array of File objects is returned, one for each file or directory in the directory. Pathnames denoting the directory itself and the directory's parent directory are not included in the result. Each resulting abstract pathname is constructed from this abstract pathname using the File(File, String) constructor. Therefore if this pathname is absolute then each resulting pathname is absolute; if this pathname is relative then each resulting pathname will be relative to the same directory.

  There is no guarantee that the name strings in the resulting array will appear in any specific order; they are not, in particular, guaranteed to appear in alphabetical order.

  Note that the Files class defines the newDirectoryStream method to open a directory and iterate over the names of the files in the directory. This may use less resources when working with very large directories.

  Returns:

  An array of abstract pathnames denoting the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname. The array will be empty if the directory is empty. Returns null if this abstract pathname does not denote a directory, or if an I/O error occurs.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the directory

  Since:

  1.2

• listFiles

  public File[] listFiles(FilenameFilter filter)

  Returns an array of abstract pathnames denoting the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname that satisfy the specified filter. The behavior of this method is the same as that of the listFiles() method, except that the pathnames in the returned array must satisfy the filter. If the given filter is null then all pathnames are accepted. Otherwise, a pathname satisfies the filter if and only if the value true results when the FilenameFilter.accept(File, String) method of the filter is invoked on this abstract pathname and the name of a file or directory in the directory that it denotes.

  Parameters:

  filter - A filename filter

  Returns:

  An array of abstract pathnames denoting the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname. The array will be empty if the directory is empty. Returns null if this abstract pathname does not denote a directory, or if an I/O error occurs.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the directory

  Since:

  1.2

  See Also:

  • Files.newDirectoryStream(Path,String)

• listFiles

  public File[] listFiles(FileFilter filter)

  Returns an array of abstract pathnames denoting the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname that satisfy the specified filter. The behavior of this method is the same as that of the listFiles() method, except that the pathnames in the returned array must satisfy the filter. If the given filter is null then all pathnames are accepted. Otherwise, a pathname satisfies the filter if and only if the value true results when the FileFilter.accept(File) method of the filter is invoked on the pathname.

  Parameters:

  filter - A file filter

  Returns:

  An array of abstract pathnames denoting the files and directories in the directory denoted by this abstract pathname. The array will be empty if the directory is empty. Returns null if this abstract pathname does not denote a directory, or if an I/O error occurs.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the directory

  Since:

  1.2

  See Also:

  • Files.newDirectoryStream(Path,java.nio.file.DirectoryStream.Filter)

• mkdir

  public boolean mkdir()

  Creates the directory named by this abstract pathname.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the directory was created; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method does not permit the named directory to be created

• mkdirs

  public boolean mkdirs()

  Creates the directory named by this abstract pathname, including any necessary but nonexistent parent directories. Note that if this operation fails it may have succeeded in creating some of the necessary parent directories.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the directory was created, along with all necessary parent directories; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(java.lang.String) method does not permit verification of the existence of the named directory and all necessary parent directories; or if the SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method does not permit the named directory and all necessary parent directories to be created

• renameTo

  public boolean renameTo(File dest)

  Renames the file denoted by this abstract pathname.

  Many aspects of the behavior of this method are inherently platform-dependent: The rename operation might not be able to move a file from one filesystem to another, it might not be atomic, and it might not succeed if a file with the destination abstract pathname already exists. The return value should always be checked to make sure that the rename operation was successful. As instances of File are immutable, this File object is not changed to name the destination file or directory.

  Note that the Files class defines the move method to move or rename a file in a platform independent manner.

  Parameters:

  dest - The new abstract pathname for the named file

  Returns:

  true if and only if the renaming succeeded; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to either the old or new pathnames

  NullPointerException - If parameter dest is null

• setLastModified

  public boolean setLastModified(long time)

  Sets the last-modified time of the file or directory named by this abstract pathname.

  All platforms support file-modification times to the nearest second, but some provide more precision. The argument will be truncated to fit the supported precision. If the operation succeeds and no intervening operations on the file take place, then the next invocation of the lastModified() method will return the (possibly truncated) time argument that was passed to this method.

  Parameters:

  time - The new last-modified time, measured in milliseconds since the epoch (00:00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970)

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded; false otherwise

  Throws:

  IllegalArgumentException - If the argument is negative

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the named file

  Since:

  1.2

• setReadOnly

  public boolean setReadOnly()

  Marks the file or directory named by this abstract pathname so that only read operations are allowed. After invoking this method the file or directory will not change until it is either deleted or marked to allow write access. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to modify files that are marked read-only. Whether or not a read-only file or directory may be deleted depends upon the underlying system.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded; false otherwise

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the named file

  Since:

  1.2

• setWritable

  public boolean setWritable(boolean writable, boolean ownerOnly)

  Sets the owner's or everybody's write permission for this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to modify files that disallow write operations.

  The Files class defines methods that operate on file attributes including file permissions. This may be used when finer manipulation of file permissions is required.

  Parameters:

  writable - If true, sets the access permission to allow write operations; if false to disallow write operations

  ownerOnly - If true, the write permission applies only to the owner's write permission; otherwise, it applies to everybody. If the underlying file system can not distinguish the owner's write permission from that of others, then the permission will apply to everybody, regardless of this value.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded. The operation will fail if the user does not have permission to change the access permissions of this abstract pathname.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the named file

  Since:

  1.6

• setWritable

  public boolean setWritable(boolean writable)

  A convenience method to set the owner's write permission for this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to modify files that disallow write operations.

  An invocation of this method of the form file.setWritable(arg) behaves in exactly the same way as the invocation

  Copy

      file.setWritable(arg, true)
  

  Parameters:

  writable - If true, sets the access permission to allow write operations; if false to disallow write operations

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded. The operation will fail if the user does not have permission to change the access permissions of this abstract pathname.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the file

  Since:

  1.6

• setReadable

  public boolean setReadable(boolean readable, boolean ownerOnly)

  Sets the owner's or everybody's read permission for this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to read files that are marked as unreadable.

  The Files class defines methods that operate on file attributes including file permissions. This may be used when finer manipulation of file permissions is required.

  Parameters:

  readable - If true, sets the access permission to allow read operations; if false to disallow read operations

  ownerOnly - If true, the read permission applies only to the owner's read permission; otherwise, it applies to everybody. If the underlying file system can not distinguish the owner's read permission from that of others, then the permission will apply to everybody, regardless of this value.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded. The operation will fail if the user does not have permission to change the access permissions of this abstract pathname. If readable is false and the underlying file system does not implement a read permission, then the operation will fail.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the file

  Since:

  1.6

• setReadable

  public boolean setReadable(boolean readable)

  A convenience method to set the owner's read permission for this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to read files that are marked as unreadable.

  An invocation of this method of the form file.setReadable(arg) behaves in exactly the same way as the invocation

  Copy

      file.setReadable(arg, true)
  

  Parameters:

  readable - If true, sets the access permission to allow read operations; if false to disallow read operations

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded. The operation will fail if the user does not have permission to change the access permissions of this abstract pathname. If readable is false and the underlying file system does not implement a read permission, then the operation will fail.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the file

  Since:

  1.6

• setExecutable

  public boolean setExecutable(boolean executable, boolean ownerOnly)

  Sets the owner's or everybody's execute permission for this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to execute files that are not marked executable.

  The Files class defines methods that operate on file attributes including file permissions. This may be used when finer manipulation of file permissions is required.

  Parameters:

  executable - If true, sets the access permission to allow execute operations; if false to disallow execute operations

  ownerOnly - If true, the execute permission applies only to the owner's execute permission; otherwise, it applies to everybody. If the underlying file system can not distinguish the owner's execute permission from that of others, then the permission will apply to everybody, regardless of this value.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded. The operation will fail if the user does not have permission to change the access permissions of this abstract pathname. If executable is false and the underlying file system does not implement an execute permission, then the operation will fail.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the file

  Since:

  1.6

• setExecutable

  public boolean setExecutable(boolean executable)

  A convenience method to set the owner's execute permission for this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to execute files that are not marked executable.

  An invocation of this method of the form file.setExcutable(arg) behaves in exactly the same way as the invocation

  Copy

      file.setExecutable(arg, true)
  

  Parameters:

  executable - If true, sets the access permission to allow execute operations; if false to disallow execute operations

  Returns:

  true if and only if the operation succeeded. The operation will fail if the user does not have permission to change the access permissions of this abstract pathname. If executable is false and the underlying file system does not implement an execute permission, then the operation will fail.

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method denies write access to the file

  Since:

  1.6

• canExecute

  public boolean canExecute()

  Tests whether the application can execute the file denoted by this abstract pathname. On some platforms it may be possible to start the Java virtual machine with special privileges that allow it to execute files that are not marked executable. Consequently, this method may return true even though the file does not have execute permissions.

  Returns:

  true if and only if the abstract pathname exists and the application is allowed to execute the file

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkExec(java.lang.String) method denies execute access to the file

  Since:

  1.6

• listRoots

  public static File[] listRoots()

  List the available filesystem roots.

  A particular Java platform may support zero or more hierarchically-organized file systems. Each file system has a root directory from which all other files in that file system can be reached.

  This method returns an array of File objects that denote the root directories of the available filesystem roots. It is guaranteed that the canonical pathname of any file physically present on the local machine will begin with one of the roots returned by this method. There is no guarantee that a root directory can be accessed.

  Unlike most methods in this class, this method does not throw security exceptions. If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to a particular root directory, then that directory will not appear in the result.

  Implementation Note:

  Windows platforms, for example, have a root directory for each active drive; UNIX platforms have a single root directory, namely "/". The set of filesystem roots is affected by various system-level operations such as the disconnecting or unmounting of physical or virtual disk drives.

  The canonical pathname of a file that resides on some other machine and is accessed via a remote-filesystem protocol such as SMB or NFS may or may not begin with one of the roots returned by this method. If the pathname of a remote file is syntactically indistinguishable from the pathname of a local file then it will begin with one of the roots returned by this method. Thus, for example, File objects denoting the root directories of the mapped network drives of a Windows platform will be returned by this method, while File objects containing UNC pathnames will not be returned by this method.

  Returns:

  An array of File objects denoting the available filesystem roots, or null if the set of roots could not be determined. The array will be empty if there are no filesystem roots.

  Since:

  1.2

  See Also:

  • FileStore

• getTotalSpace

  public long getTotalSpace()

  Returns the size of the partition named by this abstract pathname. If the total number of bytes in the partition is greater than Long.MAX_VALUE, then Long.MAX_VALUE will be returned.

  Returns:

  The size, in bytes, of the partition or 0L if this abstract pathname does not name a partition or if the size cannot be obtained

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager has been installed and it denies RuntimePermission("getFileSystemAttributes") or its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the file named by this abstract pathname

  Since:

  1.6

  See Also:

  • FileStore.getTotalSpace()

• getFreeSpace

  public long getFreeSpace()

  Returns the number of unallocated bytes in the partition named by this abstract path name. If the number of unallocated bytes in the partition is greater than Long.MAX_VALUE, then Long.MAX_VALUE will be returned.

  The returned number of unallocated bytes is a hint, but not a guarantee, that it is possible to use most or any of these bytes. The number of unallocated bytes is most likely to be accurate immediately after this call. It is likely to be made inaccurate by any external I/O operations including those made on the system outside of this virtual machine. This method makes no guarantee that write operations to this file system will succeed.

  Returns:

  The number of unallocated bytes on the partition or 0L if the abstract pathname does not name a partition or if this number cannot be obtained. This value will be less than or equal to the total file system size returned by getTotalSpace().

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager has been installed and it denies RuntimePermission("getFileSystemAttributes") or its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the file named by this abstract pathname

  Since:

  1.6

  See Also:

  • FileStore.getUnallocatedSpace()

• getUsableSpace

  public long getUsableSpace()

  Returns the number of bytes available to this virtual machine on the partition named by this abstract pathname. If the number of available bytes in the partition is greater than Long.MAX_VALUE, then Long.MAX_VALUE will be returned. When possible, this method checks for write permissions and other operating system restrictions and will therefore usually provide a more accurate estimate of how much new data can actually be written than getFreeSpace().

  The returned number of available bytes is a hint, but not a guarantee, that it is possible to use most or any of these bytes. The number of available bytes is most likely to be accurate immediately after this call. It is likely to be made inaccurate by any external I/O operations including those made on the system outside of this virtual machine. This method makes no guarantee that write operations to this file system will succeed.

  Returns:

  The number of available bytes on the partition or 0L if the abstract pathname does not name a partition or if this number cannot be obtained. On systems where this information is not available, this method will be equivalent to a call to getFreeSpace().

  Throws:

  SecurityException - If a security manager has been installed and it denies RuntimePermission("getFileSystemAttributes") or its SecurityManager.checkRead(String) method denies read access to the file named by this abstract pathname

  Since:

  1.6

  See Also:

  • FileStore.getUsableSpace()

• createTempFile

  public static File createTempFile(String prefix, String suffix, File directory) throws IOException

  Creates a new empty file in the specified directory, using the given prefix and suffix strings to generate its name. If this method returns successfully then it is guaranteed that:

  1. The file denoted by the returned abstract pathname did not exist before this method was invoked, and
  2. Neither this method nor any of its variants will return the same abstract pathname again in the current invocation of the virtual machine.

  This method provides only part of a temporary-file facility. To arrange for a file created by this method to be deleted automatically, use the deleteOnExit() method.

  The prefix argument must be at least three characters long. It is recommended that the prefix be a short, meaningful string such as "hjb" or "mail". The suffix argument may be null, in which case the suffix ".tmp" will be used.

  To create the new file, the prefix and the suffix may first be adjusted to fit the limitations of the underlying platform. If the prefix is too long then it will be truncated, but its first three characters will always be preserved. If the suffix is too long then it too will be truncated, but if it begins with a period character ('.') then the period and the first three characters following it will always be preserved. Once these adjustments have been made the name of the new file will be generated by concatenating the prefix, five or more internally-generated characters, and the suffix.

  If the directory argument is null then the system-dependent default temporary-file directory will be used. The default temporary-file directory is specified by the system property java.io.tmpdir. On UNIX systems the default value of this property is typically "/tmp" or "/var/tmp"; on Microsoft Windows systems it is typically "C:\\WINNT\\TEMP". A different value may be given to this system property when the Java virtual machine is invoked, but programmatic changes to this property are not guaranteed to have any effect upon the temporary directory used by this method.

  If the directory argument is not null and its abstract pathname is valid and denotes an existing, writable directory, then the file will be created in that directory. Otherwise the file will not be created and an IOException will be thrown. Under no circumstances will a directory be created at the location specified by the directory argument.

  Parameters:

  prefix - The prefix string to be used in generating the file's name; must be at least three characters long

  suffix - The suffix string to be used in generating the file's name; may be null, in which case the suffix ".tmp" will be used

  directory - The directory in which the file is to be created, or null if the default temporary-file directory is to be used

  Returns:

  An abstract pathname denoting a newly-created empty file

  Throws:

  IllegalArgumentException - If the prefix argument contains fewer than three characters

  IOException - If a file could not be created

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method does not allow a file to be created

  Since:

  1.2

• createTempFile

  public static File createTempFile(String prefix, String suffix) throws IOException

  Creates an empty file in the default temporary-file directory, using the given prefix and suffix to generate its name. Invoking this method is equivalent to invoking createTempFile(prefix, suffix, null).

  The Files.createTempFile method provides an alternative method to create an empty file in the temporary-file directory. Files created by that method may have more restrictive access permissions to files created by this method and so may be more suited to security-sensitive applications.

  Parameters:

  prefix - The prefix string to be used in generating the file's name; must be at least three characters long

  suffix - The suffix string to be used in generating the file's name; may be null, in which case the suffix ".tmp" will be used

  Returns:

  An abstract pathname denoting a newly-created empty file

  Throws:

  IllegalArgumentException - If the prefix argument contains fewer than three characters

  IOException - If a file could not be created

  SecurityException - If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkWrite(java.lang.String) method does not allow a file to be created

  Since:

  1.2

  See Also:

  • Files.createTempDirectory(String,FileAttribute[])

• compareTo

  public int compareTo(File pathname)

  Compares two abstract pathnames lexicographically. The ordering defined by this method depends upon the underlying system. On UNIX systems, alphabetic case is significant in comparing pathnames; on Microsoft Windows systems it is not.

  Specified by:

  compareTo in interface Comparable<File>

  Parameters:

  pathname - The abstract pathname to be compared to this abstract pathname

  Returns:

  Zero if the argument is equal to this abstract pathname, a value less than zero if this abstract pathname is lexicographically less than the argument, or a value greater than zero if this abstract pathname is lexicographically greater than the argument

  Since:

  1.2

• equals

  public boolean equals(Object obj)

  Tests this abstract pathname for equality with the given object. Returns true if and only if the argument is not null and is an abstract pathname that is the same as this abstract pathname. Whether or not two abstract pathnames are equal depends upon the underlying operating system. On UNIX systems, alphabetic case is significant in comparing pathnames; on Microsoft Windows systems it is not.

  Overrides:

  equals in class Object

  API Note:

  This method only tests whether the abstract pathnames are equal; it does not access the file system and the file is not required to exist.

  Parameters:

  obj - The object to be compared with this abstract pathname

  Returns:

  true if and only if the objects are the same; false otherwise

  See Also:

  • compareTo(File)
  • Files.isSameFile(Path,Path)

• hashCode

  public int hashCode()

  Computes a hash code for this abstract pathname. Because equality of abstract pathnames is inherently system-dependent, so is the computation of their hash codes. On UNIX systems, the hash code of an abstract pathname is equal to the exclusive or of the hash code of its pathname string and the decimal value 1234321. On Microsoft Windows systems, the hash code is equal to the exclusive or of the hash code of its pathname string converted to lower case and the decimal value 1234321. Locale is not taken into account on lowercasing the pathname string.

  Overrides:

  hashCode in class Object

  Returns:

  A hash code for this abstract pathname

  See Also:

  • Object.equals(java.lang.Object)
  • System.identityHashCode(java.lang.Object)

• toString

  public String toString()

  Returns the pathname string of this abstract pathname. This is just the string returned by the getPath() method.

  Overrides:

  toString in class Object

  Returns:

  The string form of this abstract pathname

• toPath

  public Path toPath()

  Returns a java.nio.file.Path object constructed from this abstract path. The resulting Path is associated with the default-filesystem.

  The first invocation of this method works as if invoking it were equivalent to evaluating the expression:

  Copy

          FileSystems.getDefault().getPath(this.getPath());
  

  Subsequent invocations of this method return the same Path.

  If this abstract pathname is the empty abstract pathname then this method returns a Path that may be used to access the current user directory.

  Returns:

  a Path constructed from this abstract path

  Throws:

  InvalidPathException - if a Path object cannot be constructed from the abstract path (see FileSystem.getPath)

  Since:

  1.7

  See Also:

  • Path.toFile()