How to both read and write a file in C#

Question

I want to both read from and write to a file. This doesn't work.

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(@"C:\words.txt");
    StreamWriter sw = new StreamWriter(@"C:\words.txt");
}

How can I both read from and write to a file in C#?

Answer 1

You need a single stream, opened for both reading and writing.

FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(
      @"c:\words.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate, 
      FileAccess.ReadWrite, FileShare.None);

Answer 2

var fs = File.Open("file.name", FileMode.OpenOrCreate, FileAccess.ReadWrite);
var sw = new StreamWriter(fs);
var sr = new StreamReader(fs);

...

fs.Close();
//or sw.Close();

The key thing is to open the file with the FileAccess.ReadWrite flag. You can then create whatever Stream/String/Binary Reader/Writers you need using the initial FileStream.

Answer 3

Don't forget the easy route:

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        var text = File.ReadAllText(@"C:\words.txt");
        File.WriteAllText(@"C:\words.txt", text + "DERP");
    }

Answer 4

This thread seems to answer your question : simultaneous-read-write-a-file

Basically, what you need is to declare two FileStream, one for read operations, the other for write operations. Writer Filestream needs to open your file in 'Append' mode.