Directory does not exist with FileWriter

Question

I use FileWriter for create a file. I have an error Directory does not exist I think that FileWriter create the directory if it did not exist

FileWriter writer = new FileWriter(sFileName);

well, **apparently it doesn't!** – Mike Nakis Dec 29 '11 at 14:25 — Mike Nakis, Dec 29 '11 at 14:25

score 19 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 29 '11 at 14:22

19

java.io.FileWriter does not create missing directories in the file path.

To create the directories you could do the following:

final File file = new File(sFileName);
final File parent_directory = file.getParentFile();

if (null != parent_directory)
{
    parent_directory.mkdirs();
}

FileWriter writer = new FileWriter(file);

answered Dec 29 '11 at 14:22

hmjd

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would it be worth it to add a `&& !parent_directory.exists()` to the `if` check? – Matt Felzani Aug 10 '12 at 05:44
4

@MattFelzani, you could but `mkdirs()` only returns `true` it if it created the directory, which implies it performs an existence check itself. – hmjd Aug 10 '12 at 07:37

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 29 '11 at 14:35

2

From the API documentation, we can conclude that FileWriter does not create a DIR if it does not exist:

FileWriter
public FileWriter(String fileName)
      throws IOException
Constructs a FileWriter object given a file name.

Parameters:
fileName - String The system-dependent filename.

Throws:
IOException - if the named file exists but is a directory rather than a regular file, does not exist but cannot be created, or cannot be opened for any other reason

edited Dec 29 '11 at 14:35

Luke Woodward

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answered Dec 29 '11 at 14:19

Mechkov

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Yes sir. It is a feasible way of doing it. Regards! – Mechkov Dec 29 '11 at 14:21

Directory does not exist with FileWriter

2 Answers2

FileWriter