2D arrays sorting

Question

I have a text file, which was read into list and then converted to an array. In the text file every line is an element of a 2-dimensional array. However, the conversion from the text file to the array put the elements in an incorrect order, one that was not the same as the file.

Here is my code so far:

import java.io.*;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.util.*;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.IOException;

/**
* @(#)ReadFromFile.java
*
*
* @author 
* @version 1.00 2016/2/25
*/

public class ReadFromFile {

  public static String[] readFile(String path){
    try{
      int i = 0;
      int length = Files.readAllLines(Paths.get(path)).size();
      String[] results = new String[length];
      for(String line : Files.readAllLines(Paths.get(path))){
        results[i++] = line;
      }
      return results;
    } catch(IOException e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
      return null;
    }
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Operation for Prescription File
    String[] lines = readFile("prescription.txt");
    String[] array = new String[7];
    ArrayList<String> mylist = new ArrayList<String>();
    for(String line : lines){
        for (String s : line.split("    ")){
        mylist.add(s);
        }
    }
    String[] pre = mylist.toArray(array);// Stores the elements in     prescription txt
    System.out.println(Arrays.toString(pre));
    // Operation for medicament file`enter code here`
    String[] lines2 = readFile("medicaments.txt");
    ArrayList<String> mylist2 =`enter code here` new ArrayList<String>();
    int count = 0;// varıable for countıng lines of medicaments file
    for(String line2 : lines2){
        count++;
        for (String s : line2.split("   ")){
        mylist2.add(s);
        }
   }
    String[] array2 = new String[count * 5];
    String[] med = mylist2.toArray(array2);// Stores the elements in   prescription txt
    //Converting (medicaments.txt) 1d array into 2d array
   String array2d[][] = new String[count][5];

    for(int i=0; i<count;i++){
       for(int j=0;j<5;j++){
          array2d[i][j] = med[(j*count) + i];
       }
    }
    System.out.println(Arrays.deepToString(array2d));
    // Initialize array variables to compare
    String medicine1 = pre[3];
    String medicine2 = pre[5];
    String numOfmedicine1 = pre[4];
    String numOfmedicine2 = pre[6];
    String socSecurity = pre[1];
    String date = pre[1];
  }
}

And here is my text document:

aspirin ssk 01.01.2016  31.01.2016  5.5
aspirin ssk 01.01.2016  31.01.2016  4
aspirin es  01.01.2016  31.01.2016  5.4
aspirin bk  01.01.2016  31.01.2016  6.1
aspirin ssk 01.01.2016  31.01.2016  5.4
novalgin    ssk 01.01.2016  31.01.2016  8.3

The output elements within each line come out in different order:

[[aspirin, ssk, 01.01.2016, 31.01.2016, 5.4], [ssk, 01.01.2016, 31.01.2016, 6.1, novalgin], [01.01.2016, 31.01.2016, 5.4, aspirin, ssk], [31.01.2016, 4, aspirin, ssk, 01.01.2016], [5.5, aspirin, bk, 01.01.2016, 31.01.2016], [aspirin, es, 01.01.2016, 31.01.2016, 8.3]]

How do I correct this?

Answer 1

First, you're overcomplicating a lot. Your entire readFile function unnecessarily converts a List<String> to an array of strings, only for you to convert it back. Your class should use Files.readAllLines() directly, avoid using arrays directly in favor of full list options and look something like this:

import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.util.*;
import java.io.IOException;

public class ReadFromFile {

  public static List<String> getWords(String path) {
    try {
      List<String> lines = Files.readAllLines(Paths.get(path));
      List<String> words = new ArrayList<>();  //Use descriptive variable names!
      for (String line : lines) {
        for (String word : line.split("    ")) {
          words.add(word);
          System.out.println(word);
        }
      }
      return words;
    } catch (IOException e) {
      //handle exception
      return null;  //This is not advised
    }
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    List<String> prescription_words = getWords("prescription.txt");
    List<String> medicaments_words = getWords("medicaments.txt");

    List<List<String>> list2d = new ArrayList();

    for (int idx=0; idx < medicaments_words.size(); idx++) {
      // Iterate through your medications and add them to your 2dArray
    }
  }
}

Now, this doesn't address two things. First, your original code has two text files, only one of which is specified (which?). Secondly, you are unclear how the conversion should actually occur:

for(int i=0; i<count;i++){
   for(int j=0;j<5;j++){
      array2d[i][j] = med[(j*count) + i];
   }
}

You are unclear (mostly because count , i and j are bad variables to use) where you want what to end up. This is much more readable:

for(int row=0; row < number_of_meds; row++){
   for(int column=0; column < 5; column++){
      index_of_medication = (column * number_of_meds) + row
      array2d[row][column] = med[index_of_medication];
   }
}

But this is sort of a weird way to phrase it. What you really want to do is iterate through your medications and place them in the 2d array. All you have to do is set up the outer array first, then add elements to each inner array.