NullPointerException

[jwl]

public class ReadFile {
    private Scanner read;

     private void openFile() {
       try {
           read = new Scanner(new File("Input.txt"));
       }
       catch (IOException e) {
           System.out.println("Could not open file input");
       }
   }
  
   private void readFile() {
       while(read.hasNext()) {
            String data = read.next();
            System.out.printf("%s/n", data);
       }
   }
   
   private void closeFile() {
       read.close();
   }
   
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        ReadFile file = new ReadFile();
        file.openFile();
        file.readFile();
        file.closeFile();
    }
}

I am getting a NullPointerException at lines 14 and 27. The file itself is a txt file in notepad and there are just single integers on each line:
13
105
112
..
..
..

[SJF]

You need a constructor for your ReadFile class that initializes your Scanner....

[jwl]

Why?

[jwl]

You need a constructor for your ReadFile class that initializes your Scanner....

I changed it around and I still get the same error.

[pbrockway2]

openFile() ought to initialise the scanner.

It might be good idea to System.out.println() the value of read in that method to check that it isn't null. (I'd have thought it would throw a FileNotFoundException if it couldn't find the file, but I can't check that from here.)

[jwl]

openFile() ought to initialise the scanner.

It might be good idea to System.out.println() the value of read in that method to check that it isn't null. (I'd have thought it would throw a FileNotFoundException if it couldn't find the file, but I can't check that from here.)

Yes, it is null. Why is this?

[jwl]

Yes, it is null. Why is this?

I forgot to put txt after the file name. I also moved the file into the ReadFile directory(not in src) and that seems to help but now this is what I'm getting in the console.

java.util.Scanner[delimiters=\p{javaWhitespace}+][position=0][match valid=false][need input=false][source closed=false][skipped=false][group separator=\,][decimal separator=\.][positive prefix=][negative prefix=\Q-\E][positive suffix=][negative suffix=][NaN string=\Q�\E][infinity string=\Q∞\E]
13/n105/n112/n105/n111/n112/n113/n107/n118/n108/n110/n109/n112/n108/nBUILD SUCCESSFUL (total time: 0 seconds)

?

[pbrockway2]

Ok, "can't" was an exageration, I've checked and new Scanner(File) throws an exception if anything goes wrong.

The code you posted is your real code, right? I ask because people sometimes shortcut, an if you really say "Scanner read = new Scanner(etc" that makesa difference.

Next check that you aren't actually getting the error message about not being able to open the file. Because the scanner will be null in that case.

Third print a message in openFile() at the end to confirm you've opened the file. A good message might print the full path+name of thefile. Or (temporarily, perhaps) remove the try/catch and let your program crash and burn if the file isn't found.

[jwl]

The code you posted is your real code, right?

Yes, I typed all of it. I got the concepts off of YouTube and Java Concepts 6th Edition.

[SJF]

OK, sorry, I missed the openFile call initially....


you may want something like:

     private boolean openFile() {
        boolean retVal = false;
        try {
             read = new Scanner(new File("Input.txt"));
             retVal=true;
        }
        catch (IOException e) {
             System.out.println("Could not open file input");
        }
        return retVal;   
    }
       
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        ReadFile file = new ReadFile();
        if(file.openFile()){
           file.readFile();
           file.closeFile();
        }
    }

if openFile is throwing NPE something else is happening....

You can try (for testing purposes):

    private boolean openFile() {
        boolean retVal = false;
        try {
             read = new Scanner(new File("Input.txt"));
             retVal=true;
        }
        catch (IOException e) {
             System.out.println("Could not open file input");
        }
        catch (Exception e){
              e.printStackTrace();
        }
        return retVal;   
    }

Catching "Exception" is not usually a good thing, something really wrong may have happened and you can inadvertantly ignore it by doing this, but for debugging....

[pbrockway2]

Sorry for the slow posts, my glass is empty so there was even more delay with tbis...

Your output is good - it's just that you have /n where you mean \n.

[jwl]

I forgot to put txt after the file name. I also moved the file into the ReadFile directory(not in src) and that seems to help but now this is what I'm getting in the console.

java.util.Scanner[delimiters=\p{javaWhitespace}+][position=0][match valid=false][need input=false][source closed=false][skipped=false][group separator=\,][decimal separator=\.][positive prefix=][negative prefix=\Q-\E][positive suffix=][negative suffix=][NaN string=\Q�\E][infinity string=\Q∞\E]
13/n105/n112/n105/n111/n112/n113/n107/n118/n108/n110/n109/n112/n108/nBUILD SUCCESSFUL (total time: 0 seconds)

?

I had a println statement in the openfile method that caused the above output.

private void openFile() {
       try {
           read = new Scanner(new File("BarChart.txt"));
       }
       catch (IOException e) {
           System.out.println("Could not open file input");
       }
       System.out.println(read);
   }

line 8.

[jwl]

Success!

[jwl]

Sorry for the slow posts, my glass is empty so there was even more delay with tbis...

Your output is good - it's just that you have /n where you mean \n.

Thanks

[SJF]

java.util.Scanner[delimiters=\p{javaWhitespace}+][position=0][match valid=false][need input=false][source closed=false][skipped=false][group separator=\,][decimal separator=\.][positive prefix=][negative prefix=\Q-\E][positive suffix=][negative suffix=][NaN string=\Q�\E][infinity string=\Q∞\E]

This is caused by:

    Scanner read = new Scanner(new File("SomeFile.txt"));
    System.out.println(read);

It's not an error per se, it's Scanner's .toString() method!

[pbrockway2]

Excellent!

Youtube is ok, but three heads - and discussion - is better. I really don't know how us grey beards managed...