[Kaffe] java.io.File(Input|Output)Stream question.

[Godmar Back]

> 
> On Fri, 12 Feb 1999, Godmar Back wrote:
> 
> > > 
> > > On Fri, 12 Feb 1999, Godmar Back wrote:
> > > 
> > > > > 
> > > > > Ok, here is a quick shot at that.
> > > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > This tests only one case, though.
> > > 
> > > The problem is that they throw a FileNotFoundException. The correct
> > > thing to do in this case is to throw an IOException. Then in the case
> > > where the file does not exist a FileNotFoundException can be thrown.
> > > A FileNotFoundException is derived from IOException so there would
> > > be no problem there. In the current JDK and Kaffe implementations
> > > an IOException is rethrown as a FileNotFoundException which is
> > > just plain wrong.
> > > 
> 
> Well, if it is a bug then why not fix it? The FileOutputStream class
> does not have this bug. If you look at the throws clause on the
> FileOutputStream stream you will see that is throws an IOException
> not a FileNotFoundException. This means you can implement a
> FileOutputStream correctly on unix systems but there is no way
> to implement a FileInputStream correctly. This change will not
> stop you from implementing FileInputStream on a windows box but
> is does stop a correct implementation on a unix system.
> 

First, we shouldn't fix Sun's bugs if that introduces interoperability
problems.  Second, I still would not classify this as a bug.
Saying that FileOutputStream throws an IOException, and FileInputStream
throws FileNotFoundException instead is at best an inconsistency.

I'm still not quite clear on what you want us to do (or what you want
to do yourself.)  Am I right that you want FileInputStream to only
throw a FileNotFoundException if the file is not there, and throw an
IOException if you don't have the permissions to read it?
What do you want to do if the file is there, but you're not allowed to
read the directory in which it resides?

I just don't see what practical benefit that would have.  You can either
open it or you can't.  The actual error message is part of the exception 
message, so the user would know whether it's permission denied or 
file not found or whatever.  Since java doesn't support chmod or somesuch
you couldn't even change the permissions on a file is you detect you
can't read it because of permission problems.

Implementing Java's claim of cross-platform compatibility requires to either
restrict yourself to a lowest common denominator (which is what they do
by grouping all possible error cases under "FileNotFoundException") or it
requires you to define new cross-platform abstractions (File.listRoots(),
for example).  Since the latter hasn't happened for FileInputStream,
I think it's okay to stick to the former approach.

	- Godmar