Read Lines Synchronously From File In Node Js

When working with Node.js, reading lines synchronously from a file can be a useful technique to handle file operations efficiently. In this article, we will explore how to achieve this in Node.js effortlessly.

To begin, we need to first require the 'fs' module, which is a built-in module in Node.js that provides file system functionality. This module allows us to work with the file system through different methods, including reading files synchronously.

Next, we can use the `readFileSync` method provided by the 'fs' module to read the file synchronously line by line. The `readFileSync` method takes two parameters: the path to the file we want to read and the encoding format. For example, to read a file named 'example.txt' in the current directory, we can use the following code snippet:

const fs = require('fs');

const filePath = 'example.txt';
const encoding = 'utf8';

const fileContent = fs.readFileSync(filePath, encoding);

In the code snippet above, we read the content of 'example.txt' synchronously using the `readFileSync` method and store it in the `fileContent` variable. The `encoding` parameter specifies the format in which we want to read the file, in this case, 'utf8' for reading text files.

Now, to process the file content line by line, we can split the content using the newline character (`n`). This allows us to iterate over each line and perform operations accordingly. Here is an example of how we can achieve this:

const fileLines = fileContent.split('n');

fileLines.forEach((line, index) => {
    console.log(`Line ${index + 1}: ${line}`);
    // Perform operations on each line
});

In the code snippet above, we split the `fileContent` into an array of lines using the `split` method and iterate over each line using the `forEach` method. Inside the loop, we can access each line and perform the desired operations.

It is essential to note that reading files synchronously in Node.js can block the execution of other code until the file reading operation is completed. Therefore, it is recommended to use asynchronous file operations for better performance, especially in applications that require non-blocking I/O operations.

In conclusion, reading lines synchronously from a file in Node.js is a straightforward process that involves using the 'fs' module's `readFileSync` method and processing the file content line by line. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can efficiently read files synchronously in your Node.js applications.