Question

I trying to write a program that navigates the local file system using a config file containing relevant filepaths. My question is this: What are the best practices to use when performing file I/O (this will be from the desktop app to a server and back) and file system navigation in C#?

I know how to google, and I have found several solutions, but I would like to know which of the various functions is most robust and flexible. As well, if anyone has any tips regarding exception handling for C# file I/O that would also be very helpful.

Answer 1

You don’t need a separate library, use the classes in the System.IO namespace like File, FileInfo, Directory, DirectoryInfo. A simple example:

var d = new DirectoryInfo(@"c:\");
foreach(FileInfo fi in d.GetFiles())
    Console.WriteLine(fi.Name);