org.openide.filesystems

NetBeans itself implements two filesystems: a local filesystem, which encapsulates access to the operating system's normal files; and a JAR filesystem, which allows users to mount Java Archive Files as if they were read-only directories.

Using the Filesystems API, third parties may add support for access to file-like objects stored in some different manner - for example, in a database or proprietary object storage system. More commonly, module authors should use this API whenever they need access to files; then their module should work automatically with any filesystem supported by NetBeans.

Other capabilities provided by the Filesystems API include locking files during write operations; listening for changes in a file's status, so that another part of NetBeans may reflect that change; and providing support for including the filesystem in the runtime class path of an external compiler or executor.

It caches information about the filesystem in memory and periodically refreshes its content.

Note that such locks are only used to protect against concurrent write accesses, and are not used for read operations (i.e.

For historical reasons many AbstractFileSystem.* methods are implemented as protected in this class.

This filesystem has no form of storage in and of itself.

 FileSystem sfs = Repository.getDefault().getDefaultFileSystem();
 // now use somehow, e.g.
 FileObject menus = sfs.findResource("Menu");
 // ...
 

 Description of format of XML file (which can be parsed by XMLFileSystem)
 ==================================================================
 Allowed Elements:        filesystem,file,folder,attr
 Mandatory attributes:
 -for filesystem    version=...