Mastering File I/O and Manipulation in Java: Examples, Key Differences, and Best Practices

File Input/Output (I/O) and manipulation are fundamental operations in software development. Java offers powerful and versatile libraries for handling files and directories. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore file I/O in Java, provide code examples, highlight key differences, and discuss best practices to empower you in managing files with confidence.

Introduction

File I/O and manipulation in Java are vital for reading and writing data to files and managing file-related operations. Whether it’s reading a configuration file, writing log data, or processing user-uploaded files, Java provides versatile tools for these tasks.

File I/O Basics

Reading from a File

To read data from a file in Java, you typically use the FileReader or BufferedReader classes. Here's an example:

try (BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader("example.txt"))) {
    String line;
    while ((line = reader.readLine()) != null) {
        System.out.println(line);
    }
} catch (IOException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

Writing to a File

To write data to a file, you can use the FileWriter or BufferedWriter classes:

try (BufferedWriter writer = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter("output.txt"))) {
    writer.write("Hello…