File.ReadAllBytes() Method in C# with Examples

09 Mar, 2021
File.ReadAllBytes(String) is an inbuilt File class method that is used to open a specified or created binary file and then reads the contents of the file into a byte array and then closes the file.Syntax:  
public static byte[] ReadAllBytes (string path);
Parameter: This function accepts a parameter which is illustrated below:  
path: This is the specified file to open for reading.
Exceptions: 
ArgumentException: The path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or one or more invalid characters as defined by InvalidPathChars.
ArgumentNullException: The path is null.
PathTooLongException: The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.
DirectoryNotFoundException: The specified path is invalid.
IOException: An I/O error occurred while opening the file.
UnauthorizedAccessException: This operation is not supported on the current platform. OR the path specified a directory. OR the caller does not have the required permission.
FileNotFoundException: The file specified in the path was not found.
NotSupportedException: The path is in an invalid format.
SecurityException: The caller does not have the required permission.
Return Value: Returns a byte array containing the contents of the file.Below are the programs to illustrate the File.ReadAllBytes(String) method.Program 1: Initially, a file file.txt is created with some contents shown below- 
 
C#
// C# program to illustrate the usage// of File.ReadAllBytes(String) method  // Using System and System.IO namespacesusing System;using System.IO;  class GFG {    public static void Main()    {        // Specifying a file        string path = @"file.txt";          // Calling the ReadAllBytes() function        byte[] readText = File.ReadAllBytes(path);        foreach(byte s in readText)        {            // Printing the binary array value of            // the file contents            Console.WriteLine(s);        }    }}
Output:  
53
Program 2: Initially, no file was created. Below code itself create a file file.txt with some specified contents. 
C#
// C# program to illustrate the usage// of File.ReadAllBytes(String) method  // Using System and System.IO namespacesusing System;using System.IO;  class GFG {    public static void Main()    {        // Specifying a file        string path = @"file.txt";          // Adding below contents to the file        string[] createText = { "GFG" };        File.WriteAllLines(path, createText);          // Calling the ReadAllBytes() function        byte[] readText = File.ReadAllBytes(path);        foreach(byte s in readText)        {            // Printing the binary array value of            // the file contents            Console.WriteLine(s);        }    }}
Output:  
71
70
71
10
arorakashish0911
CSharp-File-Handling
C#
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