DosFileAttributeView

AI-generated Key Takeaways

• DosFileAttributeView provides access to legacy "DOS" file attributes like read-only, hidden, system, and archive, commonly used in consumer devices with file systems like FAT.

• It extends BasicFileAttributeView, allowing access to basic file attributes and methods to read and update them.

• You can read DOS attributes and basic file attributes using the getAttribute or readAttributes methods.

• The setAttribute method can update basic attributes (last modified time, last access time, create time) and DOS attributes through dedicated methods like setReadOnly, setHidden, etc.

• This view is named "dos" and is useful for interacting with files on systems that utilize DOS attributes.

public interface DosFileAttributeView implements BasicFileAttributeView

A file attribute view that provides a view of the legacy "DOS" file attributes. These attributes are supported by file systems such as the File Allocation Table (FAT) format commonly used in consumer devices.

A DosFileAttributeView is a BasicFileAttributeView that additionally supports access to the set of DOS attribute flags that are used to indicate if the file is read-only, hidden, a system file, or archived.

Where dynamic access to file attributes is required, the attributes supported by this attribute view are as defined by BasicFileAttributeView, and in addition, the following attributes are supported:

Name	Type
readonly	Boolean
hidden	Boolean
system	Boolean
archive	Boolean

The getAttribute method may be used to read any of these attributes, or any of the attributes defined by BasicFileAttributeView as if by invoking the readAttributes() method.

The setAttribute method may be used to update the file's last modified time, last access time or create time attributes as defined by BasicFileAttributeView. It may also be used to update the DOS attributes as if by invoking the setReadOnly, setHidden, setSystem, and setArchive methods respectively.

Public Method Summary

abstract String	name() Returns the name of the attribute view.
abstract DosFileAttributes	readAttributes() Reads the basic file attributes as a bulk operation.
abstract void	setArchive(boolean value) Updates the value of the archive attribute.
abstract void	setHidden(boolean value) Updates the value of the hidden attribute.
abstract void	setReadOnly(boolean value) Updates the value of the read-only attribute.
abstract void	setSystem(boolean value) Updates the value of the system attribute.

Inherited Method Summary

From interface java.nio.file.attribute.BasicFileAttributeView

abstract String	name() Returns the name of the attribute view.
abstract BasicFileAttributes	readAttributes() Reads the basic file attributes as a bulk operation.
abstract void	setTimes(FileTime lastModifiedTime, FileTime lastAccessTime, FileTime createTime) Updates any or all of the file's last modified time, last access time, and create time attributes.

From interface java.nio.file.attribute.AttributeView

abstract String

name() Returns the name of the attribute view.

Public Methods

public abstract String name ()

Returns the name of the attribute view. Attribute views of this type have the name "dos".

Returns

• the name of the attribute view

public abstract DosFileAttributes readAttributes ()

Reads the basic file attributes as a bulk operation.

It is implementation specific if all file attributes are read as an atomic operation with respect to other file system operations.

Returns

• the file attributes

Throws

IOException
SecurityException

public abstract void setArchive (boolean value)

Updates the value of the archive attribute.

It is implementation specific if the attribute can be updated as an atomic operation with respect to other file system operations. An implementation may, for example, require to read the existing value of the DOS attribute in order to update this attribute.

Parameters

value	the new value of the attribute

Throws

IOException	if an I/O error occurs
SecurityException	In the case of the default, and a security manager is installed, its checkWrite method is invoked to check write access to the file

public abstract void setHidden (boolean value)

Updates the value of the hidden attribute.

It is implementation specific if the attribute can be updated as an atomic operation with respect to other file system operations. An implementation may, for example, require to read the existing value of the DOS attribute in order to update this attribute.

Parameters

value	the new value of the attribute

Throws

IOException	if an I/O error occurs
SecurityException	In the case of the default, and a security manager is installed, its checkWrite method is invoked to check write access to the file

public abstract void setReadOnly (boolean value)

Updates the value of the read-only attribute.

It is implementation specific if the attribute can be updated as an atomic operation with respect to other file system operations. An implementation may, for example, require to read the existing value of the DOS attribute in order to update this attribute.

Parameters

value	the new value of the attribute

Throws

IOException	if an I/O error occurs
SecurityException	In the case of the default, and a security manager is installed, its checkWrite method is invoked to check write access to the file

public abstract void setSystem (boolean value)

Updates the value of the system attribute.

It is implementation specific if the attribute can be updated as an atomic operation with respect to other file system operations. An implementation may, for example, require to read the existing value of the DOS attribute in order to update this attribute.

Parameters

value	the new value of the attribute

Throws

IOException	if an I/O error occurs
SecurityException	In the case of the default, and a security manager is installed, its checkWrite method is invoked to check write access to the file