How to resolve the algorithm Remove lines from a file step by step in the Java programming language

Published on 12 May 2024 09:40 PM

How to resolve the algorithm Remove lines from a file step by step in the Java programming language

Table of Contents

Problem Statement

Remove a specific line or a number of lines from a file. This should be implemented as a routine that takes three parameters (filename, starting line, and the number of lines to be removed). For the purpose of this task, line numbers and the number of lines start at one, so to remove the first two lines from the file foobar.txt, the parameters should be: foobar.txt, 1, 2 Empty lines are considered and should still be counted, and if the specified line is empty, it should still be removed. An appropriate message should appear if an attempt is made to remove lines beyond the end of the file.

Let's start with the solution:

Step by Step solution about How to resolve the algorithm Remove lines from a file step by step in the Java programming language

This Java program provides a way to remove a specified number of lines from a given text file. Let's break down the code:

  1. Importing Libraries:

    • import java.io.BufferedReader;
    • import java.io.File;
    • import java.io.FileReader;
    • import java.io.FileWriter;

    These imports allow the program to read and write to text files.

  2. Main Method:

    • public static void main(String[] args) is the program's entry point.
  3. User Inputs:

    • String filename = "foobar.txt"; specifies the name of the file to be processed.
    • int startline = 1; indicates the line number from which the lines should be removed.
    • int numlines = 2; defines the number of lines to be removed.
  4. RemoveLines Class:

    • RemoveLines now = new RemoveLines(); creates an instance of the RemoveLines class.
  5. delete() Method:

    • void delete(String filename, int startline, int numlines) is the method that performs the line removal operation:
      • It reads the file line by line using a BufferedReader.
      • It uses a StringBuffer to store the updated file contents.
      • It skips lines that fall within the specified range (startline to startline + numlines - 1).
      • It keeps track of the line number to ensure the correct lines are deleted.
      • If the specified range exceeds the actual file lines, it displays an error message.
      • Finally, it rewrites the file using FileWriter with the modified contents.
  6. Exception Handling:

    • The program handles any potential exceptions that may occur during file processing.

This program serves the purpose of selectively removing a specified number of lines from a text file, providing a convenient way to edit or modify text content.

Source code in the java programming language

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.FileWriter;

public class RemoveLines
{
	public static void main(String[] args)
	{
		//Enter name of the file here
		String filename="foobar.txt";
		//Enter starting line here
		int startline=1;
		//Enter number of lines here.
		int numlines=2;
		
		RemoveLines now=new RemoveLines();
		now.delete(filename,startline,numlines);
	}
	void delete(String filename, int startline, int numlines)
	{
		try
		{
			BufferedReader br=new BufferedReader(new FileReader(filename));
			
			//String buffer to store contents of the file
			StringBuffer sb=new StringBuffer("");
			
			//Keep track of the line number
			int linenumber=1;
			String line;
			
			while((line=br.readLine())!=null)
			{
				//Store each valid line in the string buffer
				if(linenumber<startline||linenumber>=startline+numlines)
					sb.append(line+"\n");
				linenumber++;
			}
			if(startline+numlines>linenumber)
				System.out.println("End of file reached.");
			br.close();
			
			FileWriter fw=new FileWriter(new File(filename));
			//Write entire string buffer into the file
			fw.write(sb.toString());
			fw.close();
		}
		catch (Exception e)
		{
			System.out.println("Something went horribly wrong: "+e.getMessage());
		}
	}
}


  

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