Object Oriented Programming (OOP)
File handling in C#
Dr. Rida El Chall
Lebanese University – Faculty of Engineering
3rd year – Semester 5
2024 - 2025
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File handling
▪ A file is a collection of data stored on a disk with a specific name, extension, and
directory path.
▪ When you open File using C# for reading and writing purposes it becomes Stream.
▪ A stream is a sequence of bytes travelling from a source to a destination over a
communication path.
▪ Input Stream: This Stream is used to read data from a file, which is known as a read
operation.
▪ Output Stream: This Stream is used to write data into a file, which is known as a
write operation.
▪ System.IO namespace provides classes for file and stream handling
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File Handling
▪ The FileInfo, DirectoryInfo, and DriveInfo classes have instance methods.
▪ File, Directory, and Path classes have static methods.
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File Handling
• File - provides static methods for creating, copying, deleting, moving, and opening files, and
helps create a FileStream object.
• FileInfo - provides instance methods for creating, copying, deleting, moving, and opening
files, and helps create a FileStream object.
• Directory - provides static methods for creating, moving, and enumerating through
directories and subdirectories.
• DirectoryInfo - provides instance methods for creating, moving, and enumerating through
directories and subdirectories.
• Path - provides methods and properties for processing directory strings in a cross-platform
manner.
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File Class
▪ Provides static methods for the creation, copying, deletion, moving, and opening of a single
file, and aids in the creation of FileStream objects.
▪ Many of the File methods return other I/O
types when you create or open files.
Open, OpenRead, OpenText, CreateText, or Create.
▪ File.Exists(string path): Checks if a file exists
▪ File.Open(string path, FileMode mode): Opens a file in the
specified mode (e.g.,Append). return a FileStream
▪ File.Create(string path): Creates a new file at the specified
path, return a FileStream
▪ File.Delete(string path): Deletes the file at the specified path.
▪ File.ReadAllText(string path): Reads the contents of a text file
into a string.
▪ File.WriteAllText(string path, string contents): Writes the
specified string to a text file.
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FileInfo Class
▪ Provides properties and instance methods for the creation, copying, deletion, moving,
and opening of files, and aids in the creation of FileStream objects. This class cannot be
inherited.
▪ Many of the FileInfo methods return
other I/O types when you create or open
files. Open, OpenRead, OpenText, CreateText,
or Create.
▪ Because all File methods are static, if you want to
perform only one action (quick file access), it
might be more efficient to use a File method than
a corresponding FileInfo instance method.
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FileStream Class
▪ Provides a Stream for a file, supporting both synchronous and asynchronous read and
write operations.
string filepath = “tmp.txt";
FileStream a = new FileStream(filepath,
FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
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StreamReader Class
▪ StreamReader: implements a TextReader that reads characters from a byte stream in a
particular encoding.
▪ StringReader: implements a TextReader that reads from a string.
TextReader is the abstract base class of StreamReader and StringReader
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StreamWriter Class
▪ StreamWriter: Implements a TextWriter for writing characters to a stream in a particular
encoding.
▪ StringWriter : implements a TextWriter for writing information to a string
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Directory and DirectoryInfo
▪ Directory: Static methods for manipulating directories (e.g., creating, moving, deleting).
▪ DirectoryInfo: Instance-based class that represents a specific directory and allows you to
perform operations on it.
// Directory Example
string dirPath = "NewFolder";
if (!Directory.Exists(dirPath))
{
Directory.CreateDirectory(dirPath);
}
// DirectoryInfo Example
DirectoryInfo dirInfo = new DirectoryInfo(dirPath);
FileInfo[] files = dirInfo.GetFiles();
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How to: Write text to a file
▪ Different ways to write:
• StreamWriter contains methods to write to a file synchronously (Write and WriteLine) or
asynchronously (WriteAsync and WriteLineAsync).
• File provides static methods to write text to a file such as WriteAllLines and WriteAllText,
or to append text to a file such as AppendAllLines, AppendAllText, and AppendText.
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Read text from a file
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Serialization
▪ Serialization is the process of converting an object or data structure into a format that
can be easily stored or transmitted.
• System.Runtime.Serialization
• Deserialization is the reverse process, where data in these formats is converted back into
an object.
• Serialization is essential for saving application state, sending data over a network, or
storing complex objects in files or databases.
• . Types of Serialization in C#
• Binary Serialization: BinaryFormatter replacements like protobuf-net or MessagePack
• XML Serialization (useful for configuration files and legacy systems); XmlSerializer
• JSON Serialization (ideal for web and API applications) ; System.Text.Json
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Binary Serialization
•Binary serialization with
BinaryFormatter can be
dangerous
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JSON Serialization
▪ JSON serialization is popular in modern applications, particularly for web APIs. It’s
efficient and human-readable, and JSON is a widely accepted data interchange format.
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