Help reading .csv file into an arraylist

Question

i need to read a csv file into an arraylist and then print the arraylist to the screen.
using:
try {
            // Setup our scanner to read the file at the path c:\test.txt
            Scanner myscanner = new Scanner(new File("\\carsDB.csv"));    
ArrayList<CarsClass> carsClass = new ArrayList<CarsClass>(" write all fields");   
            while (myscanner.hasNextLine()) {
myscanner.add(" add car fields to the carClass");              // Write your code here.
// loop to read them all to the screencsv file is like this:
Manufacturer,carline name,displ,cyl,fuel,(miles),Class
CHEVROLET,CAVALIER (natural gas),2.2,4,CNG,120,SUBCOMPACT CARS
HONDA,CIVIC GX (natural gas),1.6,4,CNG,190,SUBCOMPACT CARS
FORD,CONTOUR (natural gas),2,4,CNG,70,COMPACT
FORD,CROWN VICTORIA (natural gas),4.6,8,CNG,140/210*,LARGE CARS
FORD,F150 PICKUP (natural gas) - 2WD,5.4,8,CNG,130,STANDARD PICKUP TRUCKS 2WD
FORD,F250 PICKUP (natural gas) - 2WD,5.4,8,CNG,160,STANDARD PICKUP TRUCKS 2WD
FORD,F250 PICKUP (natural gas) - 2WD,5.4,8,CNG,150/210*,STANDARD PICKUP TRUCKS 2WD
FORD,F150 PICKUP (natural gas) - 4WD,5.4,8,CNG,130,STANDARD PICKUP TRUCKS 4WD
FORD,F250 PICKUP (natural gas) - 4WD,5.4,8,CNG,160,STANDARD PICKUP TRUCKS 4WD
FORD,E250 ECONOLINE (natural gas) - 2WD,5.4,8,CNG,170,"VANS, CARGO TYPE"
FORD,E250 ECONOLINE (natural gas) - 2WD,5.4,8,CNG,80,"VANS, CARGO TYPE"
FORD,F150 LPG - 2WD,5.4,8,LPG,290/370*,STANDARD PICKUP TRUCKS 2WD
FORD,F250 LPG - 2WD,5.4,8,LPG,260/290/370**,STANDARD PICKUP TRUCKS 2WD
ok, so do i need to write a file carsclass.java or is the line:
ArrayList<CarsClass> carsClass = new ArrayList<CarsClass>(" write all fields");
going to define my carsclass objects? how do i write my fields for each of the 7 categories?
i believe i can easily add to and print the arraylist, but i'm confused how to go about creating this arraylist in the first place. do i just create carclass.java and save them all as strings? i guess my question is mainly how should i structure this? any suggestions/help is appreciated.
Edited by: scottc on Nov 15, 2007 5:55 PM

Answer 1

String.split uses regular expressions.Ahh yeah ummm (slaps forehead) I'd forgotten that... so maybe StringTokeniser is more accessible for noob's. Sorry.
Anyway... if all you want/need to so is store a bunch of String field values then how about using an array of String's instead of individual fields... maybe something like:
forums\Car.java
* Car Data Transfer Object. All fields are final, making objects of this class
* thread safe(r).
* @author keith
package forums;
import krc.utilz.stringz.Arrayz;
public class Car
  // class attributes                       // variables //isn't actually wrong, it's just not quit right.
  private final String[] fields;            // final means values are write once, read many times, which is thread safe(r).
   * Initialises the new Cars fields to the given fields array.
   * @param fields - an array of any (reasonable) length
  public Car(String[] fields) {             // no need to comment a constructor as a constructor.
    this.fields = fields;                   // much better to provide javadoc comments explaining
  }                                         // what the method does and how to use it.
   * Returns this Car's fields as one long string.
  public String toString() {                // It's actually GOOD to be a lazy programmer.
    return Arrayz.join(", ", this.fields);  // I have reused my Arrayz.join in several projects.
                                            // I think you can use Array.toString (new in 1.6) instead.
krc\utilz\stringz\Arrayz.java
package krc.utilz.stringz;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Arrayz
    * returns true if the given value is in the args list, else false.
    * @param value - the value to seek
    * @param args... - variable number of String arguments to look in
  public static boolean in(String value, String... args) {
    for(String a : args) if(value.equals(a)) return true;
    return false;
    * append the elements of array into one string, seperated by FS
    * @param a  - an array of strings to join together
    * @param FS - Field Seperator string, optional default=" "
    * @example
    *  String[] array = {"Bob","The","Builder"};
    *  System.out.println(join(array);
    *  --> Bob The Builder
    *  System.out.println("String[] array = {\""+join(array, "\",\"")+"\"};");
    *  --> String[] array = {"Bob","The","Builder"};
  public static String join(String FS, String[]... arrays) {
    StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();
    for (String[] array : arrays)
      sb.append(join(array, FS));
    return(sb.toString());
  public static String join(String[] array) {
    return(join(array, " "));
  public static String join(String[] a, String FS) {
    if (a==null) return null;
    if (a.length==0) return "";
    StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer(a[0]);
    for (int i=1; i<a.length; i++) {
      sb.append(FS+a);
return sb.toString();
* append all the elements of the given arrays into one big array
* @param String[]... arrays - to be concatenated
* @return String[] - one big array
public static String[] concatenate(String[]... arrays) {
List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
for(String[] array : arrays) {
for(String item : array) {
list.add(item);
return(list.toArray(new String[0]));
I guess that Arrayz class might be a bit beyond you at the moment so don't worry too much if you can't understand the code... there are no nasty surprises in it... just cut and paste the code, change the package name, and use it (for now).