File list() method in Java with Examples

30 Jan, 2019
The list() method is a part of File class.The function returns an array of string denoting the files in a given abstract pathname if the path name is a directory else returns null. The function is an overloaded function. One of the function does not have any parameter and the other function takes FilenameFilter object as parameter
Function Signature:
public String[] list()
public String[] list(FilenameFilter f)
Function Syntax:
file.list()
file.list(filter)
Parameters: The function is an overloaded function. One of the function does not have any parameter and the other function takes FilenameFilter object as a parameter
Return value: The function returns a string array, or null value if the file object is file.
Exception: This method throws Security Exception if the function is not allowed write access to the file.
Below programs will illustrate the use of the list() function
Example 1: We will try to find all the files and directories in a given directory
// Java program to demonstrate the// use of list() function  import java.io.*;  public class solution {    public static void main(String args[])    {          // try-catch block to handle exceptions        try {              // Create a file object            File f = new File("f:\\program");              // Get all the names of the files present            // in the given directory            String[] files = f.list();              System.out.println("Files are:");              // Display the names of the files            for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {                System.out.println(files[i]);            }        }        catch (Exception e) {            System.err.println(e.getMessage());        }    }}
Output:
Files are:
1232.txt
1245.txt
5671.txt
program1

Example 2: We will try to find all the files and directories in a given directory whose names start with “12”
// Java program to demonstrate the// use of list() function  import java.io.*;  public class solution {    public static void main(String atry-catch  {          // try catch block to handle exceptions        try {              // Create a file object            File f = new File("f:\\program");              // Create a FilenameFilter            FilenameFilter filter = new FilenameFilter() {                  public boolean accept(File f, String name)                {                    return name.startsWith("12");                }            };              // Get all the names of the files present            // in the given directory            // and whose names start with "12"            String[] files = f.list(filter);              System.out.println("Files are:");              // Display the names of the files            for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {                System.out.println(files[i]);            }        }        catch (Exception e) {            System.err.println(e.getMessage());        }    }
Output:
Files are:
1232.txt
1245.txt

The programs might not run in an online IDE. please use an offline IDE and set the Parent file of the file
Java-File Class
Java-Functions
Java-IO package
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