C# FileStream

C# FileStream class provides a stream for file operation. It can be used to

perform synchronous and asynchronous read and write operations. By the
help of FileStream class, we can easily read and write data into file.

C# FileStream example: writing single byte into file

Let's see the simple example of FileStream class to write single byte of data
into file. Here, we are using OpenOrCreate file mode which can be used for
read and write operations.

using System;
using System.IO;
public class FileStreamExample
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
FileStream f = new FileStream("e:\\b.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate);//cre
ating file stream
f.WriteByte(65);//writing byte into stream
f.Close();//closing stream
}
}

C# FileStream example: reading all bytes from file

Let's see the example of FileStream class to read data from the file. Here,
ReadByte() method of FileStream class returns single byte. To all read all
the bytes, you need to use loop.

using System;
using System.IO;
public class FileStreamExample
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
FileStream f = new FileStream("e:\\b.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate);
int i = 0;
while ((i = f.ReadByte()) != -1)
{
Console.Write((char)i);
}
f.Close();
}
}

C# StreamWriter
C# StreamWriter class is used to write characters to a stream in specific
encoding. It inherits TextWriter class. It provides overloaded write() and
writeln() methods to write data into file.

C# StreamWriter example
Let's see a simple example of StreamWriter class which writes a single line
of data into the file.

using System;
using System.IO;
public class StreamWriterExample
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
FileStream f = new FileStream("e:\\output.txt", FileMode.Create);
 StreamWriter s = new StreamWriter(f);

s.WriteLine("hello c#");
s.Close();
f.Close();
Console.WriteLine("File created successfully...");
}
}

C# StreamReader
C# StreamReader class is used to read string from the stream. It inherits
TextReader class. It provides Read() and ReadLine() methods to read data
from the stream.

C# StreamReader example to read one line

Let's see the simple example of StreamReader class that reads a single line
of data from the file.

using System;
using System.IO;
public class StreamReaderExample
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
FileStream f = new FileStream("e:\\output.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate);

StreamReader s = new StreamReader(f);

string line=s.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine(line);
 s.Close();
f.Close();
}
}

C# StreamReader example to read all lines

using System;
using System.IO;
public class StreamReaderExample
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
FileStream f = new FileStream("e:\\a.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate);
StreamReader s = new StreamReader(f);

string line = "";

while ((line = s.ReadLine()) != null)
{
Console.WriteLine(line);
}
s.Close();
f.Close();
}
}

Output:

Hello C#
this is file handling
 C# TextWriter
C# TextWriter class is an abstract class. It is used to write text or sequential
series of characters into file. It is found in System.IO namespace.

C# TextWriter Example
Let's see the simple example of TextWriter class to write two lines data.

using System;
using System.IO;
namespace TextWriterExample
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
using (TextWriter writer = File.CreateText("e:\\f.txt"))
{
writer.WriteLine("Hello C#");
writer.WriteLine("C# File Handling by JavaTpoint");
}
Console.WriteLine("Data written successfully...");
}
}
}
 C# TextReader
C# TextReader class is found in System.IO namespace. It represents a reader that can be
used to read text or sequential series of characters.

C# TextReader Example: Read All Data

Let's see the simple example of TextReader class that reads data till the end of file.

using System;
using System.IO;
namespace TextReaderExample
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
using (TextReader tr = File.OpenText("e:\\f.txt"))
{
Console.WriteLine(tr.ReadToEnd());
}
}
}
}

C# StringWriter Class
This class is used to write and deal with string data rather than files. It is
derived class of TextWriter class. The string data written by StringWriter
class is stored into StringBuilder.

The purpose of this class is to manipulate string and save result into the
StringBuilder.

StringWriter Class Signature

1. [SerializableAttribute]
2. [ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
3. public class StringWriter : TextWriter

C# StringWriter Constructors

Constructors Description

StringWriter() It is used to initialize a

new instance of the
StringWriter class.

StringWriter(IFormatProvider) It is used to initialize a

new instance of the
StringWriter class with
the specified format
control.

StringWriter(StringBuilder) It is used to initialize a

new instance of the
StringWriter class that
writes to the specified
StringBuilder.

StringWriter(StringBuilder,IFormatProvider) It is used to initialize a

new instance of the
StringWriter class that
writes to the specified
StringBuilder and has the
specified format provider.
C# StringWriter Properties

Property Description

Encoding It is used to get the Encoding in which the output is

written.

FormatProvider It is used to get an object that controls formatting.

NewLine It is used to get or set the line terminator string used

by the current TextWriter.

C# StringWriter Methods

Methods Description

Close() It is used to close the current StringWriter

and the underlying stream.

Dispose() It is used to release all resources used by

the TextWriter object.

Equals(Object) It is used to determine whether the specified

object is equal to the current object or not.

Finalize() It allows an object to try to free resources

and perform other cleanup operations.

GetHashCode() It is used to serve as the default hash

function.
 GetStringBuilder() It returns the underlying StringBuilder.

ToString() It returns a string containing the characters

written to the current StringWriter.

WriteAsync(String) It is used to write a string to the current

string asynchronously.

Write(Boolean) It is used to write the text representation of

a Boolean value to the string.

Write(String) It is used to write a string to the current

string.

WriteLine(String) It is used to write a string followed by a line

terminator to the string or stream.

WriteLineAsync(String) Writes a string followed by a line terminator

asynchronously to the current
string.(Overrides
TextWriter.WriteLineAsync(String).)

C# StringWriter Example
In the following program, we are using StringWriter class to write string information
to the StringBuilder class. The StringReader class is used to read written
information to the StringBuilder.

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string text = "Hello, Welcome to the javatpoint \n" +
"It is nice site. \n" +
"It provides technical tutorials";
// Creating StringBuilder instance
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
// Passing StringBuilder instance into StringWriter
StringWriter writer = new StringWriter(sb);
// Writing data using StringWriter
writer.WriteLine(text);
writer.Flush();
// Closing writer connection
writer.Close();
// Creating StringReader instance and passing StringBuilder
StringReader reader = new StringReader(sb.ToString());
// Reading data
while (reader.Peek() > -1)
{
Console.WriteLine(reader.ReadLine());
}
}
}
}
 C# StringReader Class
StringReader class is used to read data written by the StringWriter class. It is
subclass of TextReader class. It enables us to read a string synchronously or
asynchronously. It provides constructors and methods to perform read operations.

C# StringReader Signature
1. [SerializableAttribute]
2. [ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
3. public class StringReader : TextReader

C# StringReader Constructors
StringReader has the following constructors.

Constructors Description

StringReader(String) Initializes a new instance of the StringReader class that reads

from the specified string.

C# StringReader Methods
Following are the methods of StringReader class.

next →← prev

C# StringReader Class
StringReader class is used to read data written by the StringWriter class. It is subclass of
TextReader class. It enables us to read a string synchronously or asynchronously. It provides
constructors and methods to perform read operations.

C# StringReader Signature
1. [SerializableAttribute]
2. [ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
3. public class StringReader : TextReader

C# StringReader Constructors
StringReader has the following constructors.

Constructors Description

StringReader(String) Initializes a new instance of the StringReader class that reads

from the specified string.

C# StringReader Methods
Following are the methods of StringReader class.

Method Description

Close() It is used to close the StringReader.

Dispose() It is used to release all resources used by the

TextReader object.

Equals(Object) It determines whether the specified object is equal to

the current object or not.

Finalize() It allows an object to try to free resources and

perform other cleanup operations.

GetHashCode() It serves as the default hash function.

GetType() It is used to get the type of the current instance.

Peek() It is used to return the next available character but

does not consume it.
 Read() It is used to read the next character from the input
string.

ReadLine() It is used to read a line of characters from the

current string.

ReadLineAsync() It is used to read a line of characters asynchronously

from the current string.

ReadToEnd() It is used to read all the characters from the current

position to the end of the string.

ReadToEndAsync() It is used to read all the characters from the current

position to the end of the string asynchronously.

ToString() It is used to return a string that represents the

current object.

C# StringReader Example
In the following example, StringWriter class is used to write the string information and
StringReader class is used to read the string, written by the StringWriter class.

1. using System;
2. using System.IO;
3. namespace CSharpProgram
4. {
5. class Program
6. {
7. static void Main(string[] args)
8. {
9. StringWriter str = new StringWriter();
10. str.WriteLine("Hello, this message is read by StringReader class");
11. str.Close();
 12. // Creating StringReader instance and passing StringWriter
13. StringReader reader = new StringReader(str.ToString());
14. // Reading data
15. while (reader.Peek() > -1)
16. {
17. Console.WriteLine(reader.ReadLine());
18. }
19. }
20. }
21.}

Output:

Hello, this message is read by StringReader class

C# FileInfo Class
The FileInfo class is used to deal with file and its operations in C#. It provides
properties and methods that are used to create, delete and read file. It uses
StreamWriter class to write data to the file. It is a part of System.IO namespace.

C# FileInfo Class Signature

1. [SerializableAttribute]
2. [ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
3. public sealed class FileInfo : FileSystemInfo

C# FileInfo Constructors
The following table contains constructors for the FileInfo class.

Constructor Description

FileInfo(String) It is used to initialize a new instance of the FileInfo class which acts as
a wrapper for a file path.
C# FileInfo Properties
The following table contains properties of the FileInfo class.

Properties Description

Attributes It is used to get or set the attributes for the current file or directory.

CreationTime It is used to get or set the creation time of the current file or
directory.

Directory It is used to get an instance of the parent directory.

DirectoryName It is used to get a string representing the directory's full path.

Exists It is used to get a value indicating whether a file exists.

FullName It is used to get the full path of the directory or file.

IsReadOnly It is used to get or set a value that determines if the current file is
read only.

LastAccessTime It is used to get or set the time from current file or directory was last
accessed.

Length It is used to get the size in bytes of the current file.

Name It is used to get the name of the file.

C# FileInfo Methods
The following table contains methods of the FileInfo class.

Method Description

AppendText() It is used to create a StreamWriter that appends text to the file

 represented by this instance of the FileInfo.

CopyTo(String) It is used to copy an existing file to a new file.

Create() It is used to create a file.

CreateText() It is used to create a StreamWriter that writes a new text file.

Decrypt() It is used to decrypt a file that was encrypted by the current

account using the Encrypt method.

Delete() It is used to permanently delete a file.

Encrypt() It is used to encrypt a file so that only the account used to

encrypt the file can decrypt it.

GetAccessControl() It is used to get a FileSecurity object that encapsulates the

access control list (ACL) entries.

MoveTo(String) It is used to move a specified file to a new specified location.

Open(FileMode) It is used to open a file in the specified mode.

OpenRead() It is used to create a read-only FileStream.

OpenText() It is used to create a StreamReader with UTF8 encoding that

reads from an existing text file.

OpenWrite() It is used to create a write-only FileStream.

Refresh() It is used to refresh the state of the object.

Replace(String,String) It is used to replace the contents of a specified file with the file
described by the current FileInfo object.

ToString() It is used to return the path as a string.

 C# FileInfo Example: Creating a File
using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
try
{
// Specifying file location
string loc = "F:\\abc.txt";
// Creating FileInfo instance
FileInfo file = new FileInfo(loc);
// Creating an empty file
file.Create();
Console.WriteLine("File is created Successfuly");
}catch(IOException e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: "+e);
}
}
}
}

Output:

File is created Successfully

We can see inside the F drive a file abc.txt is created. A screenshot is given below.
 C# FileInfo Example: writing to the file
using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
try
{
// Specifying file location
string loc = "F:\\abc.txt";
// Creating FileInfo instance
FileInfo file = new FileInfo(loc);
// Creating an file instance to write
StreamWriter sw = file.CreateText();
// Writing to the file
sw.WriteLine("This text is written to the file by using StreamWriter class.");

sw.Close();
}catch(IOException e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: "+e);
 }
}
}
}

Output:

C# FileInfo Example: Reading text from the file

using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
try
{
// Specifying file to read
string loc = "F:\\abc.txt";
// Creating FileInfo instance
FileInfo file = new FileInfo(loc);
// Opening file to read
StreamReader sr = file.OpenText();
string data = "";
while ((data = sr.ReadLine()) != null)
{
Console.WriteLine(data);
 }
}
catch (IOException e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: " + e);
}
}
}
}

Output:

C# DirectoryInfo Class
DirectoryInfo class is a part of System.IO namespace. It is used to create, delete
and move directory. It provides methods to perform operations related to directory
and subdirectory. It is a sealed class so, we cannot inherit it.

The DirectoryInfo class provides constructors, methods and properties that are
listed below.

C# DirectoryInfo Syntax
1. [SerializableAttribute]
2. [ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
3. public sealed class DirectoryInfo : FileSystemInfo

C# DirectoryInfo Constructors
The following table contains the constructors for the DirectoryInfo class.
Constructor Description

DirectoryInfo(String) It is used to initialize a new instance of the DirectoryInfo class on

the specified path.

C# DirectoryInfo Properties
The following table contains the properties of the DirectoryInfo class.

Property Description

Attributes It is used to get or set the attributes for the current file or
directory.

CreationTime It is used to get or set the creation time of the current file or
directory.

CreationTimeUtc It is used to get or set creation time, in coordinated universal time

(UTC).

Exists It is used to get a value indicating whether the directory exists.

Extension It is used to get the string representing the extension part of the
file.

FullName It is used to get the full path of the directory.

LastAccessTime It is used to get or set the time the current file or directory was
last accessed.

LastAccessTimeUtc It is used to get or set the time, in coordinated universal time

(UTC) that the current file or directory was last accessed.

LastWriteTime It is used to get or set the time when the current file or directory
was last written.
 LastWriteTimeUtc It is used to get or set the time, in coordinated universal time
(UTC), when the current file or directory was last written.

Name It is used to get the name of this DirectoryInfo instance.

Parent It is used to get the parent directory of a specified subdirectory.

Root It is used to get the root portion of the directory.

C# DirectoryInfo Methods
The following table contains the methods of the DirectoryInfo class.

Method Description

Create() It is used to create a directory.

Create(DirectorySecurity) It is used to create a directory using a

DirectorySecurity object.

CreateObjRef(Type) It is used to create an object that

contains all the relevant information
required to generate a proxy used to
communicate with a remote object.

CreateSubdirectory(String) It is used to create a subdirectory or

subdirectories on the specified path.

CreateSubdirectory(String,DirectorySecurity) It is used to create a subdirectory or

subdirectories on the specified path with
the specified security.

Delete() It is used to delete this DirectoryInfo if it

is empty.
Delete(Boolean) It is used to delete this instance of a
DirectoryInfo, specifying whether to
delete subdirectories and files.

EnumerateDirectories() It returns an enumerable collection of

directory information in the current
directory.

EnumerateFiles() It returns an enumerable collection of file

information in the current directory.

GetAccessControl() It is used to get a DirectorySecurity

object that encapsulates the access
control list (ACL) entries for the
directory.

GetDirectories() It returns the subdirectories of the

current directory.

GetFiles() It returns a file list from the current

directory.

GetType() It is used to get the Type of the current

instance.

MoveTo(String) It is used to move a DirectoryInfo

instance and its contents to a new path.

Refresh() It is used to refresh the state of the

object.

SetAccessControl(DirectorySecurity) It is used to set access control list (ACL)

entries described by a DirectorySecurity
object.
 ToString() It returns the original path that was
passed by the user.

C# DirectoryInfo Example
In the following example, we are creating a javatpoint directory by specifying the
directory path.

using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Provide directory name with complete location.
DirectoryInfo directory = new DirectoryInfo(@"F:\javatpoint");
try
{
// Check, directory exist or not.
if (directory.Exists)
{
Console.WriteLine("Directory already exist.");
return;
}
// Creating a new directory.
directory.Create();
Console.WriteLine("The directory is created successfully.");
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Directory not created: {0}", e.ToString());
}
 }
}
}

Output:

The directory is created successfully.

In below screenshot, we can see that a directory is created.

The DirectoryInfo class also provides a delete method to delete created directory.
In the following program, we are deleting a directory that we created in previous
program.

C# DirectoryInfo Example: Deleting Directory

using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CSharpProgram
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Providing directory name with complete location.
DirectoryInfo directory = new DirectoryInfo(@"F:\javatpoint");
try
 {
// Deleting directory
directory.Delete();
Console.WriteLine("The directory is deleted successfully.");
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: {0}", e.ToString());
}
}
}
}

Output:

The directory is deleted successfully.

It throws a System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException exception if the specified

directory not present at the location.