Which is more efficient way in Java to read csv file CSVReader or RandomAccessFile? [closed]

Question

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, visit the help center.

Closed 9 years ago.

I want to read a huge data file (csv format) containing rows and columns. I want to read and process individual columns in order. Which method is more efficient in terms of speed and memory utilization? Shall I use CSVReader or Random Access File feature of Java? Please help. Thanks

Answer 1

If performance and efficiency are your utmost concern, use memory mapped files and NIO and write your own CSV parser.

But most often, this is just a waste of your time. So I suggest that you first try CSVReader and only if you find out that this doesn't work for you, you write your own CSV parser.

Also note that a BufferedReader will usually be faster than RandomAccessFile.