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## java.io
Class FilePermission

    java.lang.Object
      java.security.Permission
          java.io.FilePermission

All Implemented Interfaces:
  Guard, Serializable

public final class FilePermission
extends Permission
implements Serializable

This class represents access to a file or directory. A FilePermission consists of a pathname and a set of actions valid for that pathname.

Pathname is the pathname of the file or directory granted the specified actions. A pathname that ends in "/*" (where "/" is the file separator character, `File.separatorChar`) indicates all the files and directories contained in that directory. A pathname that ends with "/-" indicates (recursively) all files and subdirectories contained in that directory. A pathname consisting of the special token "<<ALL FILES>>" matches any file.

Note: A pathname consisting of a single "*" indicates all the files in the current directory, while a pathname consisting of a single "-" indicates all the files in the current directory and (recursively) all files and subdirectories contained in the current directory.

The actions to be granted are passed to the constructor in a string containing a list of one or more comma-separated keywords. The possible keywords are "read", "write", "execute", and "delete". Their meaning is defined as follows:

read
  read permission
write
  write permission
execute
  execute permission. Allows `Runtime.exec` to be called. Corresponds to `SecurityManager.checkExec`.
delete
  delete permission. Allows `File.delete` to be called. Corresponds to `SecurityManager.checkDelete`.

The actions string is converted to lowercase before processing.

Be careful when granting FilePermissions. Think about the implications of granting read and especially write access to various files and directories. The "<<ALL FILES>>" permission with write action is especially dangerous. This grants permission to write to the entire file system. One thing this effectively allows is replacement of the system binary, including the JVM runtime environment.

Please note: Code can always read a file from the same directory it's in (or a subdirectory of that directory); it does not need explicit permission to do so.

Since:
  1.2
See Also:
  `Permission`, `Permissions`, `PermissionCollection`

Constructor Summary
`FilePermission(String path, String actions)` Creates a new FilePermission object with the specified actions.

Method Summary
`boolean` | `equals(Object obj)` Checks two FilePermission objects for equality.
`String` | `getActions()` Returns the "canonical string representation" of the actions.
`int` | `hashCode()` Returns the hash code value for this object.
`boolean` | `implies(Permission p)` Checks if this FilePermission object "implies" the specified permission.
`PermissionCollection` | `newPermissionCollection()` Returns a new PermissionCollection object for storing FilePermission objects.

Methods inherited from class java.security.Permission
`checkGuard, getName, toString`

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
`clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait`

Constructor Detail

### FilePermission

    public FilePermission(String path,
                          String actions)

  Creates a new FilePermission object with the specified actions. path is the pathname of a file or directory, and actions contains a comma-separated list of the desired actions granted on the file or directory. Possible actions are "read", "write", "execute", and "delete".

  A pathname that ends in "/*" (where "/" is the file separator character, `File.separatorChar`) indicates a directory and all the files contained in that directory. A pathname that ends with "/-" indicates a directory and (recursively) all files and subdirectories contained in that directory. The special pathname "<<ALL FILES>>" matches all files.

  A pathname consisting of a single "*" indicates all the files in the current directory, while a pathname consisting of a single "-" indicates all the files in the current directory and (recursively) all files and subdirectories contained in the current directory.

Parameters:
  `path` - the pathname of the file/directory.
  `actions` - the action string.

Method Detail

### implies

    public boolean implies(Permission p)

  Checks if this FilePermission object "implies" the specified permission.

  More specifically, this method returns true if:

  - p is an instanceof FilePermission,

  - p's actions are a proper subset of this object's actions, and

  - p's pathname is implied by this object's pathname. For example, "/tmp/*" implies "/tmp/foo", since "/tmp/*" encompasses the "/tmp" directory and all files in that directory, including the one named "foo".

  Specified by:
    `implies` in class `Permission`
  Parameters:
    `p` - the permission to check against.
  Returns:
    true if the specified permission is implied by this object, false if not.

### equals

    public boolean equals(Object obj)

  Checks two FilePermission objects for equality. Checks that obj is a FilePermission, and has the same pathname and actions as this object.

  Specified by:
    `equals` in class `Permission`
  Parameters:
    `obj` - the object we are testing for equality with this object.
  Returns:
    true if obj is a FilePermission, and has the same pathname and actions as this FilePermission object.

### hashCode

    public int hashCode()

  Returns the hash code value for this object.

  Specified by:
    `hashCode` in class `Permission`
  Returns:
    a hash code value for this object.

### getActions

    public String getActions()

  Returns the "canonical string representation" of the actions. That is, this method always returns present actions in the following order: read, write, execute, delete. For example, if this FilePermission object allows both write and read actions, a call to `getActions` will return the string "read,write".

  Specified by:
    `getActions` in class `Permission`
  Returns:
    the canonical string representation of the actions.

### newPermissionCollection

    public PermissionCollection newPermissionCollection()

  Returns a new PermissionCollection object for storing FilePermission objects.

  FilePermission objects must be stored in a manner that allows them to be inserted into the collection in any order, but that also enables the PermissionCollection `implies` method to be implemented in an efficient (and consistent) manner.

  For example, if you have two FilePermissions:

  1. `"/tmp/-", "read"`
  2. `"/tmp/scratch/foo", "write"`

  and you are calling the `implies` method with the FilePermission:

         "/tmp/scratch/foo", "read,write",

  then the `implies` function must take into account both the "/tmp/-" and "/tmp/scratch/foo" permissions, so the effective permission is "read,write", and `implies` returns true. The "implies" semantics for FilePermissions are handled properly by the PermissionCollection object returned by this `newPermissionCollection` method.

  Overrides:
    `newPermissionCollection` in class `Permission`
  Returns:
    a new PermissionCollection object suitable for storing FilePermissions.

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For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

Copyright 2003 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms. Also see the documentation redistribution policy.