Scanner or BufferedReader: Which Java Class Should You Use for File Reading?

Scanner and BufferedReader: Comparative Analysis

Reading character-based data from files in Java is commonly achieved through Scanner and BufferedReader, both offering distinct capabilities and performance characteristics.

Performance Comparison: Scanner vs. BufferedReader

Scanner performs marginally slower than BufferedReader when reading large files due to its token parsing capabilities. BufferedReader, on the other hand, optimizes performance by employing a buffer to minimize physical disk operations.

Choosing Scanner or BufferedReader

The choice between Scanner and BufferedReader hinges on the specific application requirements:

• Scanner:

  • Suitable for parsing structured input, such as CSV files or text data containing specific tokens.
  • Implements tokenizing operations, allowing for efficient extraction of specific data segments.

• BufferedReader:

  • Efficient for reading large files where performance is critical.
  • Does not perform token parsing, making it suitable for scenarios where simple character stream reading is sufficient.

Hybrid Approach

It is noteworthy that Scanner can accept a BufferedReader as its source of characters. This allows developers to leverage the performance advantages of BufferedReader while maintaining the token parsing capabilities of Scanner.

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