Creating file in Java
last modified January 27, 2024
In Java create file tutorial, we show how to create a file in Java. We create files
with built-in classes including File, FileOutputStream, and
Files. We also use two third-party libraries: Apache Commons IO and Google Guava.
A computer file is a computer resource for recording data discretely in a computer storage device.
The tutorials shows five ways to create a file in Java. The examples create empty files.
Java creating file with File
The File's createNewFile method creates a new, empty file
named by the pathname if a file with this name does not yet exist.
package com.zetcode;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
public class JavaCreateFileEx {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
File file = new File("src/main/resources/myfile.txt");
if (file.createNewFile()) {
System.out.println("File has been created.");
} else {
System.out.println("File already exists.");
}
}
}
The createNewFile returns true if the named file does
not exist and was successfully created; false if the named file
already exists.
Java creating file with FileOutputStream
In the second example, we create a new, empty file with FileOutputStream.
package com.zetcode;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
public class JavaCreateFileEx2 {
public static void main(String[] args) throws FileNotFoundException, IOException {
FileOutputStream fout = null;
try {
fout = new FileOutputStream("src/main/resources/myfile.txt");
} finally {
if (fout != null) {
fout.close();
}
}
}
}
The file is created when FileOutputStream object is instantiated.
If the file already exists, it is overridden.
FileNotFoundException is thrown
if the file exists but is a directory rather than a regular file, does not exist but
cannot be created, or cannot be opened for any other reason.
Java creating file with Files
Java 7 introduced Files, which consists exclusively of static methods
that operate on files, directories, or other types of files. Its createFile
method creates a new and empty file, failing if the file already exists.
package com.zetcode;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.FileAlreadyExistsException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
public class JavaCreateFileEx3 {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
Path path = Paths.get("src/main/resources/myfile.txt");
try {
Files.createFile(path);
} catch (FileAlreadyExistsException ex) {
System.err.println("File already exists");
}
}
}
The example creates a new, empty file with Files.
Path path = Paths.get("src/main/resources/myfile.txt");
A Path object is created. It is used to locate a file in a file system.
Files.createFile(path);
The new file is created with Files.createFile.
} catch (FileAlreadyExistsException ex) {
FileAlreadyExistsException is thrown if the file already exists.
Java creating file with Apache Commons IO
The next example creates a file with Apache Commons IO library.
<dependency>
<groupId>commons-io</groupId>
<artifactId>commons-io</artifactId>
<version>2.6</version>
</dependency>
For the project we need the commons-io dependency.
package com.zetcode;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
public class JavaCreateFileEx4 {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
FileUtils.touch(new File("src/main/resources/myfile.txt"));
}
}
The new file is created with FileUtils.touch method.
Java creating file with Google Guava
In the following example, we create a new file with Google Guava library.
<dependency>
<groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
<artifactId>guava</artifactId>
<version>23.4-jre</version>
</dependency>
For the project we need the guava dependency.
package com.zetcode;
import com.google.common.io.Files;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
public class JavaCreateFileEx5 {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
Files.touch(new File("src/main/resources/myfile.txt"));
}
}
The new file is created with Files.touch. It accepts
a File as a parameter.
Source
Java Reading, Writing, and Creating Files - tutorial
In this article we have shown several ways how to create a file in Java. We have used built-in tools and third-party libraries.
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