If NSString stringWithContentsOfFile is deprecated, what is its replacement?

Question

I have some sample code from Tuaw which is probably 3 releases old ;) The compiler is issuing a warning that the method is deprecated, but I do not see that mentioned in the SD

Answer 1

Here's an example, adding to Carl Norum's correct answer.

Note the ampersand & prepended to the passed error variable.

// The source text file is named "Example.txt". Written with UTF-8 encoding.
NSString* path = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"Example"
                                                 ofType:@"txt"];
NSError* error = nil;
NSString* content = [NSString stringWithContentsOfFile:path
                                              encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding
                                                 error:&error];
if(error) { // If error object was instantiated, handle it.
    NSLog(@"ERROR while loading from file: %@", error);
    // …
}

• If you know the encoding, you specify that encoding by calling the + stringWithContentsOfFile:encoding:error: method.
• If you do not know the character encoding and want iOS to guess, call the + stringWithContentsOfFile:usedEncoding:error: method which communicates back to you the detected encoding by setting the value of the usedEncoding argument. For discussion, see this other question.

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Bit of advice… Always make an attempt to know the character encoding of your file. Guessing is risky business.