Features of java.io.File in the Java(TM) 2 Platform Documentation Contents Features of java.io.File in the JavaTM 2 Platform The File class is a true abstract representation of file and directory pathnames. This allows the File class to better support non-Unix platforms such as Windows, which has a rich pathname syntax involving drive letters, UNC share names, and multiple separator characters. The specification of class File prior to the JavaTM 2 Platform could not handle these cases because it was written in terms of simple string operations. The following features were introduced in the File class in the Java 2 Platform, v1.2: The ability to create temporary files, and a simple delete-on-exit facility (the new methods createNewFile, createTempFile, and deleteOnExit); Conversion of abstract pathnames to URLs (the new method toURL); Access to the list of filesystem roots (the new method listRoots); Comparability (the new compareTo methods); Access to additional file attributes (the new methods isHidden, setLastModified, and setReadOnly); and A uniform set of methods that accept and return File objects rather than strings (the new methods getParentFile, getAbsoluteFile, getCanonicalFile, and listFiles, and the new interface FileFilter). Copyright © 1995-2010 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please send comments using this Feedback page. Java Technology