Read and write a String from text file

Question

I need to read and write data to/from a text file, but I haven\'t been able to figure out how.

I found this sample code in the Swift\'s iBook, but I still don\'t kno

Answer 1

You may find this tool useful to not only read from file in Swift but also parse your input: https://github.com/shoumikhin/StreamScanner

Just specify the file path and data delimiters like this:

import StreamScanner

if let input = NSFileHandle(forReadingAtPath: "/file/path")
{
    let scanner = StreamScanner(source: input, delimiters: NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: ":\n"))  //separate data by colons and newlines

    while let field: String = scanner.read()
    {
        //use field
    }
}

Hope, this helps.

Answer 2

To avoid confusion and add ease, I have created two functions for reading and writing strings to files in the documents directory. Here are the functions:

func writeToDocumentsFile(fileName:String,value:String) {
    let documentsPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)[0] as! NSString
    let path = documentsPath.stringByAppendingPathComponent(fileName)
    var error:NSError?
    value.writeToFile(path, atomically: true, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding, error: &error)
}

func readFromDocumentsFile(fileName:String) -> String {
    let documentsPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)[0] as! NSString
    let path = documentsPath.stringByAppendingPathComponent(fileName)
    var checkValidation = NSFileManager.defaultManager()
    var error:NSError?
    var file:String

    if checkValidation.fileExistsAtPath(path) {
        file = NSString(contentsOfFile: path, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding, error: nil) as! String
    } else {
        file = "*ERROR* \(fileName) does not exist."
    }

    return file
}

Here is an example of their use:

writeToDocumentsFile("MyText.txt","Hello world!")

let value = readFromDocumentsFile("MyText.txt")
println(value)  //Would output 'Hello world!'

let otherValue = readFromDocumentsFile("SomeText.txt")
println(otherValue)  //Would output '*ERROR* SomeText.txt does not exist.'

Hope this helps!

Xcode Version: 6.3.2

Answer 3

For reading and writing you should use a location that is writeable, for example documents directory. The following code shows how to read and write a simple string. You can test it on a playground.

Swift 3.x - 5.x

let file = "file.txt" //this is the file. we will write to and read from it

let text = "some text" //just a text

if let dir = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first {

    let fileURL = dir.appendingPathComponent(file)

    //writing
    do {
        try text.write(to: fileURL, atomically: false, encoding: .utf8)
    }
    catch {/* error handling here */}

    //reading
    do {
        let text2 = try String(contentsOf: fileURL, encoding: .utf8)
    }
    catch {/* error handling here */}
}

Swift 2.2

let file = "file.txt" //this is the file. we will write to and read from it

let text = "some text" //just a text

if let dir = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSSearchPathDirectory.DocumentDirectory, NSSearchPathDomainMask.AllDomainsMask, true).first {
    let path = NSURL(fileURLWithPath: dir).URLByAppendingPathComponent(file)

    //writing
    do {
        try text.writeToURL(path, atomically: false, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding)
    }
    catch {/* error handling here */}

    //reading
    do {
        let text2 = try NSString(contentsOfURL: path, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding)
    }
    catch {/* error handling here */}
}

Swift 1.x

let file = "file.txt"

if let dirs : [String] = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSSearchPathDirectory.DocumentDirectory, NSSearchPathDomainMask.AllDomainsMask, true) as? [String] {
    let dir = dirs[0] //documents directory
    let path = dir.stringByAppendingPathComponent(file);
    let text = "some text"

    //writing
    text.writeToFile(path, atomically: false, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding, error: nil);

    //reading
    let text2 = String(contentsOfFile: path, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding, error: nil)
}

Answer 4

I want to show you only the first part, that is read. Here's how simply you can read:

Swift 3:

let s = try String(contentsOfFile: Bundle.main.path(forResource: "myFile", ofType: "txt")!)

Swift 2:

let s = try! String(contentsOfFile: NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("myFile", ofType: "txt")!)

Answer 5

This works with Swift 3.1.1 on Linux:

import Foundation

let s = try! String(contentsOfFile: "yo", encoding: .utf8)

Answer 6

Swift 3.x - 5.x

The Best Example is to Create a Local Logfile with an Extension .txt that can visible and show in the "Files App" with current date and Time as a File Name

just add this code in info.plist enable these two features

  UIFileSharingEnabled
  LSSupportsOpeningDocumentsInPlace

and this Function Below

var logfileName : String = ""

func getTodayString() -> String{

    let date = Date()
    let calender = Calendar.current
    let components = calender.dateComponents([.year,.month,.day,.hour,.minute,.second], from: date)

    let year = components.year
    let month = components.month
    let day = components.day
    let hour = components.hour
    let minute = components.minute
    let second = components.second

    let today_string = String(year!) + "-" + String(month!) + "-" + String(day!) + "-" + String(hour!)  + "" + String(minute!) + "" +  String(second!)+".txt"

    return today_string

}

func LogCreator(){
    logfileName = getTodayString()

    print("LogCreator: Logfile Generated Named: \(logfileName)")

    let file = logfileName //this is the file. we will write to and read from it

    let text = "some text" //just a text

    if let dir = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first {

        let fileURL = dir.appendingPathComponent(file)
        let documentPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory,.userDomainMask, true)[0]
        print("LogCreator: The Logs are Stored at location \(documentPath)")


        //writing
        do {
            try text.write(to: fileURL, atomically: false, encoding: .utf8)
        }
        catch {/* error handling here */}

        //reading
        do {
            let text2 = try String(contentsOf: fileURL, encoding: .utf8)
            print("LogCreator: The Detail log are :-\(text2)")
        }
        catch {/* error handling here */}
    }
}


  [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/4eg12.png