Why does System.getProperty("user.dir") not returning the expected value

Question

When I tried the below code, it is not returning the current directory. Instead it is returning only . ie a dot .

String current = System.getProperty("user.dir");
System.out.println("Current working directory in Java : " + current);

Output:

Current working directory in Java :.

Answer 1

Whereever the value is coming from seems to be platform-specific but certainly . ie "dot" is not a particularly useful result. Not sure how it was processed but if your main aim is to get a meaningful value, you can use either of the following options as per this documentation :

• getCanonicalPath()
• getCanonicalFile()
• getAbsolutePath()
• getAbsoluteFile()

A Windows OS based example:

• Ideal scenario:

  • Code Block:

     System.out.println("user.dir: "+System.getProperty("user.dir"));

  • Console Output:

     user.dir: C:\\Users\\AtechM_03\\LearnAutmation\\learn-automation

• Alternative:

  • Code Block:

     String user_dir = System.getProperty("user.dir"); File pwdDir = new File(user_dir); System.out.println("Current working directory in Java : " + pwdDir.getCanonicalPath()); System.out.println("Current working directory in Java : " + pwdDir.getCanonicalFile()); System.out.println("Current working directory in Java : " + pwdDir.getAbsolutePath()); System.out.println("Current working directory in Java : " + pwdDir.getAbsoluteFile());

  • Console Output:

     Current working directory in Java : C:\\Users\\AtechM_03\\LearnAutmation\\learn-automation Current working directory in Java : C:\\Users\\AtechM_03\\LearnAutmation\\learn-automation Current working directory in Java : C:\\Users\\AtechM_03\\LearnAutmation\\learn-automation Current working directory in Java : C:\\Users\\AtechM_03\\LearnAutmation\\learn-automation