Sybex 829, Files.list()

[Udo Albinger]

On page 807: "... the JVM will not follow symbolic links when using the list() method"

This seems not to be correct, the following code does list a directory by a symbolic link.
It prints something like this:
C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\junit3162142126987772402\linkToSubdir, symbolicLink: true
C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\junit3162142126987772402\subdir\subdirfile

class FilesTest {

  @EnabledOnOs({OS.WINDOWS})
  @Test
  void list(@TempDir Path tempDir) throws IOException {
    Path subDir = tempDir.resolve("subdir");
    Path subDirFile = subDir.resolve("subdirfile");
    Files.createDirectory(subDir);
    Files.createFile(subDirFile);
    Path symbolicLink = Files.createSymbolicLink(tempDir.resolve("linkToSubdir"), subDir);

    System.out.println(symbolicLink + ", symbolicLink: " + Files.isSymbolicLink(symbolicLink));

    try (Stream<Path> paths = Files.list(symbolicLink)) {
      System.out.println(paths.toList().get(0).toRealPath());
    }
  }

}

[Stephan van Hulst]

Welcome to CodeRanch!

I've verified your findings by running your code. Additionally, I called Files.list() on tempDir, and the returned stream also contains the symbolic link.

[Simon Roberts]

Indeed, the API documentation does not describe ignoring links, other than this:

Some file systems maintain special links to the directory itself and the directory's parent directory. Entries representing these links are not included.

Given that it bothers to mention these special links, I think it's a strong hint that other links are part of the generated Stream.

By contrast, the documentation for many other methods, for example walk, discuss options (e.g. FileVisitOption.FOLLOW_LINKS) that control this behavior. Since there's no option for controlling this behavior in list(), it would be unfriendly, to say the least, if such things were forcibly ignored.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Noted. Thanks for pointing this out.