IOException - detail message all question marks

Question

I want to createNewFile with a path but I got an IOException. The question is, the detailed message cannot be interpreted, I can only see a bunch of question marks.

I am with Windows 10 originally in Spanish, but with Chinese language pack installed. The java language already set to en and file encoding UTF-8:

java -version
Picked up _JAVA_OPTIONS: -Duser.country=US -Duser.language=en -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8
openjdk version "11" 2018-09-25
OpenJDK Runtime Environment 18.9 (build 11+28)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 18.9 (build 11+28, mixed mode)

Why? Only this exception cannot be read.

EDIT: tried to define the language as zh, but does not work.

Use this main class to reproduce it:

public class PromotionTargetFileHandlerMain {
    public static final String uploadingDir = String.join(File.separator,
            System.getProperty("user.dir"), "targets_csv");
    private static final File destDir = new File(uploadingDir);

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        createFileDestination("target.csv");
    }

    public static void createFileDestination(String filename) {
        if (!destDir.exists()) {
            try {
                Files.createDirectory(Path.of(uploadingDir));
            } catch (FileAlreadyExistsException e) {
                log.trace("File dir already exists: {}", uploadingDir);
            } catch (IOException e) {
                log.error("Cannot create temp file dir {}", uploadingDir, e);
                throw new RuntimeException(e);
            }
        }
        String saveLocation = String.join(File.separator,
                uploadingDir, filename
        );
        File saveFile = new File(saveLocation);
        if (saveFile.exists()) saveFile.delete();
        try {
            saveFile.createNewFile();   // <--------------- here IOException
        } catch (IOException e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(e);
        }
    }
}

OK maybe duplicate for: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17159357/is-there-a-way-to-force-exception-message-to-be-english-for-java-1-7. Seems that it is an OS level message, which is affected by language pack(so it is in Chinese), but then decoded with another locale...? — WesternGun, Aug 28 '20 at 11:08
Can you [edit] your question and post a [mcve]? Also, how are you running your java code? Are you running it from an IDE? If so, which one? Or are you running it from a command prompt window? Are you running a single java class or a JAR file? — Abra, Aug 28 '20 at 12:06
Hi Abra, I will try to edit it; I am running it from Intellij IDEA, it is a microservice with Spring Boot with an API to upload file. I run it with Gradle. — WesternGun, Aug 28 '20 at 12:10
You don't need to post all your code. You just need to post code that reproduces your problem, i.e. the code that causes the `IOException`. You can't read the message, but it appears that the stack trace is readable. So locate which line of your code is throwing the exception and try to create a [mcve] from that. — Abra, Aug 28 '20 at 12:18
BTW what I want to know, is how to change encoding of this OS level message so that I can read it; it is not about "troubleshooting why I cannot create a file", but "generic solution of configuration in Java side to read language specific IO error message in Windows" — WesternGun, Aug 28 '20 at 13:12
If you add `System.out.println(e.getMessage().codePointAt(0));` to your last catch block, before the `throw new RuntimeException(e)`, what does it print? — VGR, Aug 28 '20 at 21:28
And duplicate of this: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17159357/is-there-a-way-to-force-exception-message-to-be-english-for-java-1-7 — WesternGun, Aug 31 '20 at 09:28

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 31 '20 at 11:01

I may found one solution: change locale in Windows 10 for non-Unicode applications in Control Panel. It was Spanish, but now I changed to Chinese, then I can see some localized message of other IO errors(cannot reproduce the same error in the question):

I found this:

...and .NET exception messages will be localized regardless of the intended recipient of the message.

So it leads me to believe that the process is like this:

native OS level error message is always in Chinese
and, due to OS locale setting for non-Unicode(why Java is considered non-Unicode application, I don't know), it wants to interprete it as Spanish, but failed
so I can only see ??????

In Windows 10, you can type "Control Panel" in the search bar, and go to: Region -> Management(tab) -> non-Unicode application language, set to Chinese(or others as in your local language pack), and restart.

Of course, it affects other non-Unicode application, too.

score -4 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 28 '20 at 11:08

-4

Write your code in try catch blog and in catch (Exception e) then if your file objecct has no issues then you will get the results

  try{
//code
}catch(Exception e){

println("Exception"+e)
}

answered Aug 28 '20 at 11:08

Iftikhar humayun

41
3

No, it does not work. I try to log error, but I got: `java.io.IOException: ???????????` – WesternGun Aug 28 '20 at 11:25
so try IOEXCEPTION – Iftikhar humayun Aug 28 '20 at 11:36
check your file setting /properties are they open for reading and writing – Iftikhar humayun Aug 28 '20 at 11:37
answer is right it is dont work for your scenario that is another thing – Iftikhar humayun Aug 28 '20 at 11:38
If it does not solve my problem, I cannot mark it as solution to this specific question. Do you agree? I already catched IOException. And, your wording in the answer is hard to understand. – WesternGun Aug 28 '20 at 11:42
show me your detail error i will respond you with the right solution – Iftikhar humayun Aug 28 '20 at 11:43
You already have all information you need. Sorry that I cannot show more. – WesternGun Aug 28 '20 at 11:44
what i think is that you are accessing the file or folder and which properties are read only not write only thats why it is throwing exception otherwise the system error – Iftikhar humayun Aug 28 '20 at 11:46
I think you are right, but there are 2 things: a) I want to know why I cannot create this file; b) I want to solve IOException message not readable problem. I want to solve b) first because it already happened many times; then let's look at a). – WesternGun Aug 28 '20 at 11:51
you have to change the permissiion of file to read it – Iftikhar humayun Aug 31 '20 at 17:34
kindly upgrade the answer atleast i answered you & guide in some way because you really affect my ratings – Iftikhar humayun Sep 07 '20 at 05:50
you can delete your answer. I think I have made myself very clear in the comments that the answer did not help in any way. I can withdraw my own downvote but I can do nothing about the downvotes of others, which are 3. – WesternGun Sep 07 '20 at 10:09

IOException - detail message all question marks

2 Answers2