Write text file into array then return it in Java

Question

I am writing small game and I need to read off text file, write it into array and then print array. My class for reading and returning array looks like this:

import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;

public class WordsList {

    public String[] wordsList;


    public void readFile() throws Exception{

        FileInputStream in = new FileInputStream("test.txt");
        BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(in));
        NumberOfLines read = new NumberOfLines();
        int n = read.getLineCount();

        String strLine;
        wordsList = new String[n];   

        for (int j = 0; j < wordsList.length; j++){
        wordsList[j] = br.readLine();

        }
        in.close();
    }

    public String[] returnsWordList(){
        return wordsList;
    }
}

And in main class I have this:

import java.util.ArrayList;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        WordsList words = new WordsList();
        System.out.println(words.returnsWordList());
    }

}

It returns null value rather than words... What did I do wrong? Any ideas?

Jon Skeet · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-05 12:21:28Z

2

What did I do wrong? Any ideas?

You failed to call readFile() anywhere in your code. Change your main method to:

WordsList words = new WordsList();
words.readFile();
System.out.println(words.returnsWordList());

and it will probably print out a non-null reference. It won't be a useful representation, because arrays don't override toString. If you want to see that actual contents, you'd want:

System.out.println(Arrays.toString(words.returnsWordList()));

There are various other ways in which your code is still far from great, but that should at least get you started.

answered Aug 5, 2012 at 12:21

Jon Skeet

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1 Comment

Shepard Over a year ago

Thanks, I changed code too many times and lost myself, I had it done properly, but I forgot about toString. (Java noob here) Thanks!

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