Question about FilenameFilter

[kartik krishnan]

Hi,

I am using FilenameFilter to return an array of pdf files.

When I use a File#listFile(new FilenameFilter() {
public boolean accept(File file, String name) {
return name.endwith(".pdf");
}
})

I get an array of File objects. I wanted to know if there is a way to basically manage the order they appear in an array. For example, if i have files a.pdf, b.pdf and c.pdf, is there a way to return an array of files in this order [b.pdf, c.pdf and a.pdf] if this is not the order that the FilenameFilter returns the file objects in.

[Stevi Deter]

Kartik,

FilenameFilter only determines if a file should be in the list.

Per the API, File#listFiles(FilenameFilter) behaves the same as listFiles(), only it only returns those abstract pathnames that match the filter.

File#listFiles() explicitly states there is no guarantee of the order that files will be returned.

If you need the files in a specific order, you'll have to write your own method for manipulating the File[] array returned by listFiles(FilenameFilter).
[ April 24, 2008: Message edited by: Stevi Deter ]

[Jim Yingst]

Arrays.sort() would probably be a good starting point for that...
[ April 24, 2008: Message edited by: Jim Yingst ]

[Rob Spoor]

For which you need a comparator if alphabetical sorting is not what you need.