TextStream docs don't document Close() method

bgrommes

Although the TextStream docs give code examples closing the stream, the Close() method is not actually a documented method of TextStream.

Documentation also does not make clear that you should close a stream used for writing and then new up a different stream for writing.

Coming from .NET with it separate StreamReader and StreamWriter classes, this is a little bit confusing, so I think it bears explicit mention in the text underneath the write-then-read code sample.

Garry

Fixed. Thanks for pointing this out. Close() is now documented, and I’ve added an explanation below the example clarifying that TextStream supports both reading and writing but uses a single stream position. Because it does not currently provide a seek API, you should close the writing stream and create a new TextStream to read the file from the beginning. I assumed the second “writing” in your post was meant to say “reading.”

bgrommes

Garry I'm curious. Since a newly instantiated TextStream can't know that, say, you intend only to perform reads, it would have to open the file for read/write ... could you read the file contents to the end and then start writing from there? In other words make ReadLine() calls until end of file and then start making WriteLine() calls on the same instance?

Lacking any kind of positioning logic, I wonder if AppendLine() could be added so that you could open a text file and start writing to the end.

Garry

Yes, that works today. TextStream opens the file for both reading and writing and maintains a single position. If you read until EndOfFile, subsequent Write() or WriteLine() calls on the same instance write from the end.

I’ve also added FileSystemItem.AppendLine() for the simpler append-only case:

file.AppendLine("Another line")

There is also an overload accepting a TextEncoding. It appends the text followed by the platform’s native line ending. This keeps TextStream writes positional while making direct line appending convenient.

This will be in the next release: https://feedback.objo.dev/feature/946