Files.exists() returning false when a regular file is tested and true when a directory is tested

Question

I created a directory called "examples" inside my current working directory (C) and inside it I created a .txt file called "test.txt", but when I test the file using Files.exists(), it returns false.

System.out.println(Files.exists(Path.of("\\examples\\test.txt")));

So, I replaced the text file "test.txt" with a directory with the same name, ie, "test.txt". Now Files.exists() returns true. This might mean that the path is correct but something is wrong with my regular file.

why is'nt exists() returning true in both cases?

Answer 1

Try to create a directory and a file as follows:

        try {
            Path examples = Paths.get("examples");
            if (Files.notExists(examples)) // if path not exists
                Files.createDirectories(examples); // create as directory

            Path path = examples.resolve("test.txt"); // resolve file
            if (Files.notExists(path)) // if not exists
                Files.createFile(path); // create file

            System.out.println("path = " + path);
            System.out.println("Files.exists(path) = " + Files.exists(path));

        } catch (IOException ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace();
        }