Summary

Add constructors for the FileReader and FileWriter that take a Charset parameter.

Problem

The FileReader and FileWriter were designed as a convenient API for situations where default settings are desirable. However, that assumption was flawed since assuming the platform's default Charset can often cause confusion and lead to error-prone code in situations where the default Charset is not appropriate.

Solution

Add constructors that explicitly take a Charset parameter. This solution provides developers with a means to specify the Charset, as well as a clear API indicating that a Charset shall be specified in most cases.

Specification

Below is a summary of the proposed changes. The specdiff zip file is attached. It can be viewed at:

http://cr.openjdk.java.net/~joehw/jdk11/8183554/specdiff/overview-summary.html

• java/io/FileReader

public FileReader​(String fileName, Charset charset) throws FileNotFoundException

public FileReader​(File file, Charset charset) throws FileNotFoundException

• java/io/FileWriter

public FileWriter​(String fileName, Charset charset) throws IOException

public FileWriter​(String fileName, Charset charset, boolean append) throws IOException

public FileWriter​(File file, Charset charset) throws IOException

public FileWriter​(File file, Charset charset, boolean append) throws IOException