Writing OS filesystem independent Java programs...

[Patrick Ma]

Hi,

What is your preferred way to write OS filesystem independent Java program?
The Java program will need to both read and write to files. This is a server
side Java program that has total access to the filesystem.

For reading files, one can use the "resource anchor class" and
Class.getResourceAsStream(). This is nice because the root path is
represented by the "resource anchor class" instead of "C:\" or "\usr".
However, this is a read only solution. Is there a "write" counter-part to
this?

Do you prefer to specify a root path, such as "C:\" or "\usr" in your
program and have a Singleton access method to return the root path based on
looking up the OS property in System?

What other ways can you think of?
Thanks.

 

[Michael Borgwardt]

Do you prefer to specify a root path, such as "C:\" or "\usr" in your
program and have a Singleton access method to return the root path based on
looking up the OS property in System?

*Bad* solution.

What other ways can you think of?

- File.listRoots()
- File.createTempFile()
- have a configuration file where the path must be specified

 

[Chris Smith]

What is your preferred way to write OS filesystem independent Java program?
The Java program will need to both read and write to files. This is a server
side Java program that has total access to the filesystem.

For reading files, one can use the "resource anchor class" and
Class.getResourceAsStream(). This is nice because the root path is
represented by the "resource anchor class" instead of "C:\" or "\usr".
However, this is a read only solution. Is there a "write" counter-part to
this?

Do you prefer to specify a root path, such as "C:\" or "\usr" in your
program and have a Singleton access method to return the root path based on
looking up the OS property in System?

What other ways can you think of?

Generally speaking, you'll provide a base directory in a configuration
file, so it can be customized to the server. If you want to generally
examine the entire filesystem, then File.getRoots() is a good starting
point.

More details will depend on exactly what you're trying to accomplish.

--
www.designacourse.com
The Easiest Way to Train Anyone... Anywhere.

Chris Smith - Lead Software Developer/Technical Trainer
MindIQ Corporation

 

[Dave Monroe]

Hi,

What is your preferred way to write OS filesystem independent Java program?
The Java program will need to both read and write to files. This is a server
side Java program that has total access to the filesystem.

For reading files, one can use the "resource anchor class" and
Class.getResourceAsStream(). This is nice because the root path is
represented by the "resource anchor class" instead of "C:\" or "\usr".
However, this is a read only solution. Is there a "write" counter-part to
this?

Do you prefer to specify a root path, such as "C:\" or "\usr" in your
program and have a Singleton access method to return the root path based on
looking up the OS property in System?

What other ways can you think of?
Thanks.

Take a look at System.getProperties().

A lot of Java's portability depends on that.