Scanner vs. BufferedReader: Which is More Efficient for Java File Reading?

Scanner vs. BufferedReader: Efficiency and Parsing Capabilities

Reading character-based data from a file in Java is a fundamental task that can be addressed using both Scanner and BufferedReader. Scanner and BufferedReader offer distinctive functionalities that warrant comparison.

Does Scanner Perform as Well as BufferedReader?

In terms of efficiency, BufferedReader surpasses Scanner, particularly when working with large files. BufferedReader employs a buffer to cache data, reducing physical disk operations and improving performance. In contrast, Scanner doesn't use a buffer and therefore performs more disk operations, resulting in potentially slower execution times.

Why Choose Scanner or BufferedReader?

The choice between Scanner and BufferedReader depends on the specific requirements of the application.

Choose Scanner for:

• Parsing tokenized input: Scanner possesses the ability to parse tokens from the input stream, making it ideal for reading structured data.
• Token-level processing: Scanner can process tokens individually, such as extracting specific words or numbers from a text file.

Choose BufferedReader for:

• Bulk data transfer: If the primary goal is to read and transfer large amounts of characters without specific parsing requirements, BufferedReader excels due to its buffering mechanism.
• Raw data handling: BufferedReader simply reads characters from the stream without any special processing, maintaining the raw format of the input.

Bridging the Gap:

Interestingly, Scanner and BufferedReader can be combined to leverage their strengths. One can pass a BufferedReader to a Scanner to parse tokens from an efficiently read input stream. This approach marries the parsing capabilities of Scanner with the efficiency of BufferedReader.

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