Creating a Text Class in Java to Read and Store TXT Files

Learn how to implement a `Text` class in Java that can read and store data from multiple TXT files, while also enabling you to compare their content.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/65045505/ asked by the user 'Luciano Balestrin Correa' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/14318645/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/65045700/ provided by the user 'Sash Sinha' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/6328256/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Building a Java Class to Read and Store TXT Files

Working with text files is a common task in programming, and Java provides several means to do so effectively. In this guide, we will introduce a practical approach for handling text files using a Java class called Text. This class will be capable of reading the contents of multiple TXT files, storing them, and comparing them based on their word count. Let’s break down the solution step by step.

Understanding the Problem

You have three text files, such as text1.txt, text2.txt, and text3.txt, each containing some text data. Your aim is to create a Java application that can read these files, store the contents, count the number of words, and compare them based on the word count.
Here’s a quick preview of the contents of the TXT files:

text1.txt: A B C D E F G H I J

text2.txt: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

text3.txt: A B C D E F G H I J K L

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Creating the Text Class

First, we need to define a class named Text that implements the Comparable interface. This will allow us to compare different Text objects based on the word count. Below is the basic structure of the class:

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2. Implementing the Constructor

The constructor will take the file path as an argument. It will be responsible for reading the file content and counting the number of words. Here's how to implement it:

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3. Adding Helper Methods

Next, we need a method to return the file data and to override the toString method which provides a string representation of the object.

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4. Implementing the CompareTo Method

To enable comparisons, override the compareTo method. This will compare Text objects by their word counts, and in case of a tie, compare their contents.

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5. Example Usage

Here is how you would use this Text class in the TextText main application class:

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6. Compiling and Running the Code

Once your code is in place, you can compile and run it as follows:

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You should see the output displaying the list of files with their respective word counts both before and after sorting.

Conclusion

With the Text class implemented, you now have a robust tool for reading and storing TXT files in Java, while also providing the capability to compare their content. This approach is practical for applications that need to analyze text data and can be expanded for additional functionalities such as further text processing or manipulation.

Explore this further by adding new features like filtering content or integrating user inputs for enhanced interactivity. Happy coding!