Import Text File into an Array to create an object

Question

I am trying to use a text file to input various parameters into an array and then use the array to create an object. Each lien in the text file has the Strings separated by commas for each object and separate lines for individual objects.

I cannot seem to figure out what I am doing wrong, and I keep receiving this error when i try to call the method to load the file: "Exception in thread "main" java.io.FileNotFoundException: studentData.txt (The system cannot find the file specified)"

this is my method:

    public void loadStudent() throws FileNotFoundException{

    File inputFile = new File("studentData.txt");
    Scanner input = new Scanner(inputFile);
    try{
    while(input.hasNext()){
        String info = input.nextLine();
        String elements[] = info.split(" , ");
        String fName = elements[0];
        String lName = elements[1];
        String phone = elements[2];
        String address = elements[3];
        double gpa = Double.parseDouble(elements[4]);
        String major = elements[5];
        Student student = new Student(fName, lName, phone, address, 
                                          gpa, major);
        addStudent(student);
        input.nextLine();
        count++;
    }
    input.close();

    }catch(FileNotFoundException e){
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
}

Answer 1

Okay, you have two choices...

Option #01...

You can include the file inside the project itself, by placing the file inside the src directory. This will embed the file in your program, making it readonly

(Yes, I know I'm using Netbeans, the concept is the same in Eclipse)

As you can see the studentData.txt is in the myawesomeproject, along side my Main class. Where in your src you place the does matter, so beware of that, if the file is NOT in the same package, then you will need to provide a relative or fully qualified path to it.

Next, we use Scanner input = new Scanner(getClass().getResourceAsStream("studentData.txt")) to open the file, for example...

package myawesomeproject;

import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new Main();
    }

    public Main() {
        try {
            loadStudent();
        } catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    public void loadStudent() throws FileNotFoundException {
        try (Scanner input = new Scanner(getClass().getResourceAsStream("studentData.txt"))) {
            while (input.hasNext()) {
                String info = input.nextLine();
                System.out.println(info);
                String elements[] = info.split(" , ");
                String fName = elements[0];
                String lName = elements[1];
                String phone = elements[2];
                String address = elements[3];
                double gpa = Double.parseDouble(elements[4]);
                String major = elements[5];

            }
        }
    }
}

Which in my example, prints...

B1 , B2 , B3 , B4 , 0 , B6

(which is the contents of my file)

Option #02...

You place the file in the "working" directory, this is the context from which the program is executed, typically, this is the project directory (the directory which contains the src directory)

Then you can use Scanner input = new Scanner(new File("studentData.txt")) to open it, for example...

package myawesomeproject;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new Main();
    }

    public Main() {
        try {
            loadStudent();
        } catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    public void loadStudent() throws FileNotFoundException {
        try (Scanner input = new Scanner(new File("studentData.txt"))) {
            while (input.hasNext()) {
                String info = input.nextLine();
                System.out.println(info);
                String elements[] = info.split(" , ");
                String fName = elements[0];
                String lName = elements[1];
                String phone = elements[2];
                String address = elements[3];
                double gpa = Double.parseDouble(elements[4]);
                String major = elements[5];

            }
        }
    }
}

Which outputs the same thing as above, since I used the same file and just moved it for the example

This does assume you've not changed the "working" directory. If you can test where the working directory is by using System.out.println(System.getProperty("user.dir"));, you would then move your file to this location

Answer 2

The FileNotFoundException that you are getting indicates what the name implies: the JVM can't find the file at that location. Since the path you specified is relative (not absolute), chances are that it's not where you think it is (relative to the working directory you're in). To solve this you can either: a) update the file path to be correct relative to where your app is running or b) specify an absolute path to the input file