StreamReader.ReadToEnd Method (System.IO)

ReadToEnd Method

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:

.NET Framework Class Library

StreamReader..::.ReadToEnd Method

Updated: November 2007

Reads the stream from the current position to the end of the stream.

Namespace: System.IO
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Overrides Function ReadToEnd As String

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As StreamReader
Dim returnValue As String

returnValue = instance.ReadToEnd()

public override string ReadToEnd()

Visual C++

public:
virtual String^ ReadToEnd() override

public String ReadToEnd()

JScript

public override function ReadToEnd() : String

Return Value

Type: System..::.String

The rest of the stream as a string, from the current position to the end. If the current position is at the end of the stream, returns the empty string("").

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
OutOfMemoryException	There is insufficient memory to allocate a buffer for the returned string.
IOException	An I/O error occurs.

Remarks

This method overrides TextReader..::.ReadToEnd.

ReadToEnd works best when you need to read all the input from the current position to the end of the stream. If more control is needed over how many characters are read from the stream, use the Read(array<Char>[]()[], Int32, Int32) method overload, which generally results in better performance.

ReadToEnd assumes that the stream knows when it has reached an end. For interactive protocols, in which the server sends data only when you ask for it and does not close the connection, ReadToEnd might block indefinitely and should be avoided.

Note than when using the Read method, it is more efficient to use a buffer that is the same size as the internal buffer of the stream. If the size of the buffer was unspecified when the stream was constructed, its default size is 4 kilobytes (4096 bytes).

If the current method throws an OutOfMemoryException, the reader's position in the underlying Stream object is advanced by the number of characters the method was able to read, but the characters already read into the internal ReadLine buffer are discarded. Since the position of the reader in the stream cannot be changed, the characters already read are unrecoverable, and can be accessed only by reinitializing the StreamReader object. If the initial position within the stream is unknown or the stream does not support seeking, the underlying Stream object also needs to be reinitialized.

To avoid such a situation and produce robust code you should use the Read method and store the read characters in a pre-allocated buffer.

For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.

Examples

The following code example reads all the way to the end of a file in one operation.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text

Public Class Test

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim path As String = "c:\temp\MyTest.txt"

        Try
            If File.Exists(path) Then
                File.Delete(path)
            End If

            Dim sw As StreamWriter = New StreamWriter(path)
            sw.WriteLine("This")
            sw.WriteLine("is some text")
            sw.WriteLine("to test")
            sw.WriteLine("Reading")
            sw.Close()

            Dim sr As StreamReader = New StreamReader(path)

            'This allows you to do one Read operation.
            Console.WriteLine(sr.ReadToEnd())
            sr.Close()
        Catch e As Exception
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString())
        End Try
    End Sub
End Class

using System;
using System.IO;

class Test 
{
    
    public static void Main() 
    {
        string path = @"c:\temp\MyTest.txt";

        try 
        {
            if (File.Exists(path)) 
            {
                File.Delete(path);
            }

            using (StreamWriter sw = new StreamWriter(path)) 
            {
                sw.WriteLine("This");
                sw.WriteLine("is some text");
                sw.WriteLine("to test");
                sw.WriteLine("Reading");
            }

            using (StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(path)) 
            {
                //This allows you to do one Read operation.
                Console.WriteLine(sr.ReadToEnd());
            }
        } 
        catch (Exception e) 
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
        }
    }
}

Visual C++

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
   String^ path = "c:\\temp\\MyTest.txt";
   try
   {
      if ( File::Exists( path ) )
      {
         File::Delete( path );
      }
      StreamWriter^ sw = gcnew StreamWriter( path );
      try
      {
         sw->WriteLine( "This" );
         sw->WriteLine( "is some text" );
         sw->WriteLine( "to test" );
         sw->WriteLine( "Reading" );
      }
      finally
      {
         delete sw;
      }

      StreamReader^ sr = gcnew StreamReader( path );
      try
      {
         //This allows you to do one Read operation.
         Console::WriteLine( sr->ReadToEnd() );
      }
      finally
      {
         delete sr;
      }
   }
   catch ( Exception^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "The process failed: {0}", e );
   }
}

import System.*;
import System.IO.*;

class Test
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        String path = "c:\\temp\\MyTest.txt";

        try {
            if (File.Exists(path)) {
                File.Delete(path);
            }
            StreamWriter sw = new StreamWriter(path);
            try {
                sw.WriteLine("This");
                sw.WriteLine("is some text");
                sw.WriteLine("to test");
                sw.WriteLine("Reading");
            }
            finally {
                sw.Dispose();
            }
            StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(path);
            try {
                //This allows you to do one Read operation.
                Console.WriteLine(sr.ReadToEnd());
            }
            finally {
                sr.Dispose();
            }
        }
        catch (System.Exception e) {
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
        }
    } //main
} //Test

Platforms

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information