Assigning string to variable type File.

[Siva kandasamy]

Hi there,
Look at the code below.

Variable "file" is instance of type "File".

How could I able to assign string output to variable "file".
with no exception. ?
ie. file = file.getAbsoluteFile();

thanks
siva

  
import java.io.*;
 
class Test {
 
public static void main(String[] args ){
 
        File file = new File("filename.txt");
        file = file.getAbsoluteFile();
 
        System.out.println(file);
 

}
}
 

[Julian Kennedy]

Hi Siva,

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to do or why, but consider this:

public static void main(String[] args) {
    File file = new File("filename.txt");
    file = file.getAbsoluteFile();
    System.out.println(file[B].getPath()[/B]);
}

You can simplify that to:

    File file = new File("filename.txt");
    System.out.println(file[B].getAbsolutePath()[/B]);

Does that help? Maybe you'd find the I/O section of Sun's Java Tutorial interesting.

Jules

[Dirk Schreckmann]

To answer your question as I literally understand it, "You can't."

A "String" object is not a "File" object. Since "file" is a reference of type "File," it can only be used to refer to objects of type "File."

[Nick George]

or, for bonus fun, you could simplify it to

  
    System.out.println(new File("filename.txt").getAbsolutePath());

[Ilja Preuss]

Originally posted by Siva kandasamy:
How could I able to assign string output to variable "file".
with no exception. ?
ie. file = file.getAbsoluteFile();

getAbsoluteFile() has File as return type, not String. That's why it is working.

The conversion to a string is happening in the println method. Take a look at the source of PrintStream.println(Object) (the source is coming with the JDK, in a zip or jar file). You will see that

System.out.println(file);

is equivalent to

System.out.println(String.valueOf(file));

which will print "null" if file is null, file.toString() otherwise.

Did that help?

[Siva kandasamy]

Hi
Thanks every one.

Ilja,
Thanks for answering me. Exactly.

-siva
[ September 07, 2004: Message edited by: Siva kandasamy ]