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javaftpapache-commons-net

why every directory in FTP list has a "dot" item

I am making a JTree that loads files and folder of a FTP Server, using (Apache Commons). I use this method to load files of a specific directory:

FTPFile[] innerFiles = ftp.listFiles();

I noticed that for any directory, innerFiles [0] is . and innerFiles [1] is .. It is easy to ignore them by start looking from innerFiles[2], but I just want to know what are these reserved items for and would it make any problem in case of ignoring them?

Solution

  • Those files represent the current directory (.) and the directory above it (..). You should ignore these when creating a tree structure showing all the files and directories.

    You could specify a FTPFileFilter that strips these out.