Java NIO - How is Files.isSameFile different from Path.equals

Question

I could not understand how java.nio.file.Files.isSameFile method is different from java.nio.file.Path.equals method.

Could anybody please tell how they are different?

Answer 1

They are very different.

For instance:

final Path p1 = Paths.get("/usr/src");
final Path p2 = Paths.get("/usr/../usr/src");

p1.equals(p2); // FALSE
Files.isSameFile(p1, p2); // true

final Path p1 = fs1.getPath("/usr/src");
final Path p2 = fs2.getPath("/usr/src");

p1.equals(p2); // FALSE

A Path is equal to another Path if and only if:

• they have the same FileSystem;
• they have the same root element;
• they have the same name elements.

This is very different from Files.isSameFile() which accesses the filesystem and tries and see if two Paths point to the same filesystem resource.