How to Print the Contents of a Text File to the Console in Java?

What is the method to read and display the contents of a text file in Java?

// Sample Java code to read a file
import java.nio.file.*;
import java.io.IOException;

public class ReadFileExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Path filePath = Paths.get("example.txt");
        try {
            String content = Files.readString(filePath);
            System.out.println(content);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            System.err.println("Error reading file: " + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

Reading and printing the contents of a text file in Java is a common task that can be accomplished using several classes from the Java NIO (New Input/Output) package. The following explanation provides a straightforward example of how to implement this functionality effectively.

import java.nio.file.*;
import java.io.IOException;

public class ReadFile {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String fileName = "example.txt"; // specify the path to your text file
        try {
            String content = Files.readString(Paths.get(fileName));
            System.out.println(content);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            System.out.println("An error occurred: " + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

Causes

• Incorrect file path leading to FileNotFoundException.
• Issues with file permissions that prevent reading.
• Character encoding mismatches causing garbled text.

Solutions

• Use the correct file path when specifying the text file.
• Check and update file permissions to allow read access.
• Specify the correct character encoding when reading a file.

Mistake: Not handling exceptions properly, which may lead to crashes.

Solution: Always catch exceptions like IOException using try-catch blocks.

Mistake: Using a relative path that does not correctly point to the file location.

Solution: Ensure you provide the correct absolute or relative path to the text file.

Mistake: Assuming the file is not empty and printing without checks, leading to confusion.

Solution: Add a check to see if the file is empty before printing its contents.