Can't find resource file after exporting to a runnable JAR

Question

I have a project structure that looks like this:

Tester  
\-- src  
    |-- hello.java  
    \-- vocabulary.csv

I load the csv file using getResource:

url = this.getClass().getResource("vocabulary.csv");
System.out.println(url.getPath());
new FileReader(url.getPath());

The program works completly fine until I export the project to a runnable jar file. Even though the URL is still valid (he prints the path instead of null) the console shows this:

jar:file:/home/malte/Desktop/vocs.jar!/main/vocabulary.csv
Exception in thread "main" java.io.FileNotFoundException: file:/home/malte/Desktop/vocs.jar!/main/vocabulary.csv (No such file or directory)

Can you explain me why this happens and how I can solv the issue?

P.S. I am using Xtend instead of pure Java

Answer 1

You need to use

InputStream is = this.getClass().getResourceAsStream();

once you package your source as a jar. You have just one file : your jar. Your vocabulary.csv is no longer a standalone file on filesystem anymore.

You can read more here.