How to fix the "unable to read beyond the end of stream"-error?

Question

I receive following error:

“unable to read beyond the end of stream”

I write the file like this:

FileStream path = new FileStream(@"C:\Users\Moosa Raza\Desktop\byte.txt", FileMode.CreateNew); 
BinaryWriter file = new BinaryWriter(path); 
int a = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine()); 
double b = double.Parse(Console.ReadLine()); 
string c = Console.ReadLine(); 

file.Write(b); 
file.Write(c); 
file.Write(a);

input is a = 12, b = 13 and c = raza

Then read it like this:

FileStream path = new FileStream(@"C:\Users\Computer\Desktop\byte.txt", FileMode.Open);
BinaryReader s = new BinaryReader(path);
int a = s.ReadInt32();
double b = s.ReadDouble();
string c = s.ReadString();
Console.WriteLine("int = {0} , double = {1} , string = {2}",a,b,c);
Console.ReadKey();

Possible duplicate of [Im getting error Unable to read beyond the end of the stream why?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11979889/im-getting-error-unable-to-read-beyond-the-end-of-the-stream-why) — Adrian, Sep 25 '18 at 11:48
Hi. Have you verified that the file contains enough bytes to actually contain an Int32, a Double, and a String? — Lasse V. Karlsen, Sep 25 '18 at 11:52
It means that you didn't write the same info to the file you're reading back. — CodeCaster, Sep 25 '18 at 11:53
Could you provide us the byte.txt contents and the exact line of code where the exception gets throwed? — user11909, Sep 25 '18 at 12:00

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 25 '18 at 12:10

1

You must read the file in the exact same order you write it. According to your comment, the order in which you write is: double, string, int.

The reading code however, reads in the order int, double, string.

This causes the reader to read the wrong bytes, and interpret a certain value as an incorrect string length, thereby trying to read beyond the end of the file.

Make sure you read in the same order as you write.

answered Sep 25 '18 at 12:10

CodeCaster

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it is still not giving the required output. – Riven Callahan Sep 25 '18 at 12:21
@RivenCallahan Please always provide an error message. Nobody knows what "is not working" means. – user11909 Sep 25 '18 at 12:31
@Riven I can't do anything with "it isn't working". It should work. If not, edit your question to show your actual non-working code. – CodeCaster Sep 25 '18 at 12:31

Joseph Wu · Answer 2 · 2018-09-25T12:31:06.913

please try this. By using 'using' scope, it will close the file when you finish writing or reading it. Also the code will be a bit cleaner.

        using (var sw = new StreamWriter(@"C:\Users\Computer\Desktop\byte.txt"))
        {
            sw.WriteLine(int.Parse(Console.ReadLine()));
            sw.WriteLine(double.Parse(Console.ReadLine()));
            sw.WriteLine(Console.ReadLine());
        }

        using (var sr = new StreamReader(@"C:\Users\Computer\Desktop\byte.txt"))
        {
           int a =  int.Parse(sr.ReadLine());
           double b =  double.Parse(sr.ReadLine());
           string c =  sr.ReadLine();
        }

Please try explaining what you changed and why that will solve the problem. — CodeCaster, Sep 25 '18 at 12:27

How to fix the "unable to read beyond the end of stream"-error?

2 Answers2