StreamReader and Portable Class Library

Question

I am writing a ConfigManager class using Portable Class Libraries. PCL supports StreamReader and StreamWriter classes that I want to use, but the PCL version of those classes do not support passing in a string during construction. PCL also does not support the reader.Close() and writer.Close(). Lastly it doesn't support the FileStream class.

So I am looking for an answer to any one of the following questions:

1. How can I get the StreamReader and StreamWriter classes working in a PCL?
2. How can I create a new stream using PCL?
3. What other alternitives do I have to load and save files in a PCL?

Answer 1

Use Dispose() instead of Close() (or just wrap everything in a using statement). We've hidden/removed Close() in Windows Store apps and newer PCLs, because it does the same thing and people would be confused about which one to call.

Consider using PCL Storage for cross platform file system access.

Here are some blog posts you may want to refer to for how to approach platform-specific functionality in PCLs:

• How to Make Portable Class Libraries Work for You
• Portable Class Library Enlightenment / Adaptation
• Using Target-Specific Code in a Portable Library