I have the following File object pointing to a directory via symbolic link,
File directory = new File("/path/symlink/foo/bar");
String[] files = directory.listFiles();
listFiles() returns null, is this because of the symlink? if yes, how will I go about this if I really want to list the files in bar using the path that contains a symlink?
According to what I've seen while Googling this puzzling behavior, Java requires that you call .getCanonicalFile() on a File whose path contains a link before you can use it in other file operations.
So:
File directory = new File("/path/symlink/foo/bar").getCanonicalFile();
String[] files = directory.listFiles();
..extending what @mickthompson suggested, using the NIO File library (> Java 7) you can:
Path link = Paths.get("/path/symlink/foo/bar");
while (Files.isSymbolicLink(link)) {
link = Files.readSymbolicLink(link);
}
Path[] files = Files.list(link).toArray(size -> new Path[size]);
Path is easily converted to File so all your old Java IO code can be safely kept, @see Path#toFile().
