Reader read() method in Java with Examples

The ‘read()’ method is used to read a single character from an input stream. This method belongs to classes that implement the ‘Reader’ abstract class or its subclasses.

read() method in java

The ‘read()’ method in java reads a single character from an input stream, returning its Unicode value as an integer. If the end of the stream is reached, it returns -1. It is commonly used with classes implementing the ‘Reader’ interface , such as a ‘FileReader’ , to read character data from various sources. Proper error handling for potential  ‘IOException’ is necessary, and after usage, it is important to close the stream to release system resources.

Syntax:

int read() throws IOException

parameters:

This method does not take any parameters.

Return Value:

• Returns the character read as an integer in the range 0 to 65535 or -1 if the end of the stream has been reached.

Exceptions:

• ‘IOException’: id an I/O error occurs.

Example:

import java.io.*;
public class ReadFileExample {
    public static void main(String args[]){
try{
    FileReader f = new FileReader("Example.txt");
    int c;
    while((c=f.read())!=-1){
        System.out.print((char)c);
    }
    f.close();
}
catch(IOException e){
    e.printStackTrace();
   }
  }
}

Output:

If the file “Example.txt” contains the text “Hello, World!”, then the output would be:

Hello, World!