Question

What is the best way to determine a file type in Android?

I want to check if the given file is an image, a music file, etc.

Answer 1

1. Include some mime.types files in your assets folder (for example from /etc/mime.types).
2. Include activation.jar (from JAF) in your build path.

3. Use something like this:

   try {
       MimetypesFileTypeMap mftm = 
           new MimetypesFileTypeMap(getAssets().open("mime.types"));
       FileTypeMap.setDefaultFileTypeMap(mftm);
   } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
       // TODO Auto-generated catch block
       e.printStackTrace();
   } catch (IOException e) {
       // TODO Auto-generated catch block
       e.printStackTrace();
   }
   

4. Then use FileDataSource.getContentType() to obtain file types.