Java: Read first 3 lines from a file

Last update on May 19 2025 13:14:00 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

17. Read First 3 Lines of File

Write a Java program to read the first 3 lines of a file.

Sample Solution:

Java Code:

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.LineNumberReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
 
public class Exercise17 {
 
    public static void main(String a[]){
        BufferedReader br = null;
        String strLine = "";
        try {
            LineNumberReader reader = new LineNumberReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream("/home/students/test.txt"), "UTF-8"));
             while (((strLine = reader.readLine()) != null) && reader.getLineNumber() <= 3){
                System.out.println(strLine);
            }
           reader.close();
        } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
            System.err.println("File not found");
        } catch (IOException e) {
            System.err.println("Unable to read the file.");
        }
     }
}

Sample Output:

Welcome to w3resource.com.                                                                                    
Append this text.Append this text.Append this text.                                                           
Append this text.

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a Java program to read only the first three lines of a file and print them to the console.
• Write a Java program to extract the first three lines of a file and store them in an array.
• Write a Java program to display the first three lines of a file and then skip reading the rest of the content.
• Write a Java program to read the first three lines from a file and write them to a new file.

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