How class.getResourceAsStream() is supposed to work?

Question

here is what I am trying to do:
public class FileTest {
     public static void main(String[] argv) {
          //this opens the file, no problem:
          try {
               Scanner in = new Scanner(new File("myfile.properties"));
          } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
               e.printStackTrace();
          //null here:
          InputStream is = FileTest.class.getResourceAsStream("myfile.properties");
The InputStream variable is null after executing the last line of code.
Documentations says that getResourceAsStream "Finds a resource with a given name..." But it looks like it doesn't. Am I having the wrong idea on how class.getResourceAsStream() is supposed to work?

Answer 1

It find resources in the classpath. If the "resource" you enter does not begin with a slant ( / ) then it "starts looking" in the same package as the class used to make the call. If it does start with a slant ( / ), then it "starts looking" at the varying classpath "roots", as amply explained in the API docs.