ReadAllText(IFileInfo,Encoding) Method

Returns the contents of a text file in an abstract file provider as a System.String, specifying the character encoding.

Syntax

Visual Basic
C#
C++/CLI

'Declaration
 
<ExtensionAttribute()>
<NotNullAttribute()>
Public Overloads Shared Function ReadAllText( _
   ByVal fileInfo As IFileInfo, _
   ByVal encoding As Encoding _
) As String

'Usage
 
Dim fileInfo As IFileInfo
Dim encoding As Encoding
Dim value As String
 
value = IFileInfoExtension.ReadAllText(fileInfo, encoding)

[Extension()]
[NotNull()]
public static string ReadAllText( 
   IFileInfo fileInfo,
   Encoding encoding
)

[Extension()]
[NotNull()]
public:
static String^ ReadAllText( 
   IFileInfo^ fileInfo,
   Encoding^ encoding
)

Parameters

fileInfo: A file info that represents a file in the file provider.
The value of this parameter cannot be null (Nothing in Visual Basic).
encoding: The character encoding to use.
The value of this parameter cannot be null (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Return Value

System.String containing the contents of the file.

This method never returns null (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Exceptions

Exception	Description
System.ArgumentNullException	A `null` reference (`Nothing` in Visual Basic) is passed to a method that does not accept it as a valid argument. This is a usage error, i.e. it will never occur (the exception will not be thrown) in a correctly written program. Your code should not catch this exception.
System.IO.FileNotFoundException	An attempt to access a file that does not exist on disk has failed. This is an operation error that depends on factors external to your program, and thus cannot be always avoided. Your code must handle it appropriately.
System.IO.IOException	An I/O error has occurred. This is an operation error that depends on factors external to your program, and thus cannot be always avoided. Your code must handle it appropriately.
System.NotSupportedException	An invoked method is not supported at all, or is not supported with the parameters used to create the object.
System.Security.SecurityException	A security error was detected. This is an operation error that depends on factors external to your program, and thus cannot be always avoided. Your code must handle it appropriately.
System.UnauthorizedAccessException	The operating system has denied access because of an I/O error or a specific type of security error. This is an operation error that depends on factors external to your program, and thus cannot be always avoided. Your code must handle it appropriately.

Remarks

This method is similar to FileSystem.ReadAllText Method for normal (operating system) files.

Note: This method allows you to read from a text file. The contents of the file are returned as a string.

The file encoding can be specified if the contents of the file are in an encoding such as ASCII or UTF-8. If you are reading from a file with extended characters, you need to specify the file encoding using the appropriate overload of this method.

This is an extension method (info: C#, VB.NET). In languages that have support for extensions methods (such as C# and VB.NET), you can use the extension method as if it were a regular method on the object that is its first parameter. In other languages (such as with Python.NET), you will call the extension as a static method, and pass it the object on which it acts as its first parameter.

Requirements

Target Platforms: .NET Framework: Windows 10 (selected versions), Windows 11 (selected versions), Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2022; .NET: Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows

Reference

IFileInfoExtension Class
IFileInfoExtension Members
Overload List

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