Java File vs Files

🔹 File Class – Legacy Style

• Introduced in Java 1.0
• Represents a file or directory path (abstractly)
• Can check existence, path, file type, delete, etc.
• Does not handle content I/O directly (use with streams)

✅ Common Methods

File file = new File("example.txt");

file.exists();         // check existence
file.isFile();         // is it a file?
file.isDirectory();    // is it a directory?
file.getName();        // get file name
file.getAbsolutePath();// get full path
file.delete();         // delete the file
file.mkdir();          // create directory

⚠️ Limitations

• Procedural, limited functionality
• Poor error handling (returns boolean)
• Cannot read/write contents directly
• Outdated for modern Java applications

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🔹 Files Class – Modern Approach with NIO

• Introduced in Java 7 (NIO.2)
• Works with Path (from java.nio.file)
• Provides static utility methods for file operations
• Supports content read/write, copy, move, delete, encoding, and more

✅ Common Methods

Path path = Paths.get("example.txt");

Files.exists(path);                   // check existence
Files.copy(path, targetPath);         // copy file
Files.move(path, targetPath);         // move file
Files.delete(path);                   // delete file
Files.readAllLines(path);            // read all lines as List<String>
Files.write(path, lines);            // write lines to file
Files.newBufferedReader(path);       // get a Reader
Files.newBufferedWriter(path);       // get a Writer

✅ Advantages

• Full I/O capabilities
• Better exception handling (throws IOException)
• Encoding support (UTF-8, etc.)
• Compatible with modern Java APIs

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🔸 Comparison Table

Feature File Files + Path

Introduced in	Java 1.0	Java 7 (NIO.2)
Style	Object-oriented	Functional (static methods)
Use case	Basic file metadata	Full I/O operations (read, write...)
Error handling	Returns boolean	Throws exceptions (IOException)
Encoding support	❌ Not built-in	✅ Supported
Recommended?	❌ Legacy only	✅ Modern & preferred

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✅ Final Thoughts

• Use Files with Path for modern, safe, and efficient file I/O.
• Use File for legacy compatibility or very basic operations.
• Prefer Files.write(), Files.readAllLines(), and BufferedReader/Writer for clean and concise code.