Java™ How To Program (Early Objects), Tenth Edition

15.4.1 Creating a Sequential-Access Text File

Java imposes no structure on a file—notions such as records do not exist as part of the Java language. Therefore, you must structure files to meet the requirements of your applications. In the following example, we see how to impose a keyed record structure on a file.

The program in this section creates a simple sequential-access file that might be used in an accounts receivable system to keep track of the amounts owed to a company by its credit clients. For each client, the program obtains from the user an account number and the client’s name and balance (i.e., the amount the client owes the company for goods and services received). Each client’s data constitutes a “record” for that client. This ...