TextWriter Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.IO

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

TextWriter.cs

Represents a writer that can write a sequential series of characters. This class is abstract.

public ref class TextWriter abstract : MarshalByRefObject, IAsyncDisposable, IDisposable

public abstract class TextWriter : MarshalByRefObject, IAsyncDisposable, IDisposable

type TextWriter = class
    inherit MarshalByRefObject
    interface IAsyncDisposable
    interface IDisposable

Public MustInherit Class TextWriter
Inherits MarshalByRefObject
Implements IAsyncDisposable, IDisposable

Inheritance

Object

MarshalByRefObject

TextWriter

Derived

System.CodeDom.Compiler.IndentedTextWriter

System.IO.StreamWriter

System.IO.StringWriter

System.Web.HttpWriter

System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter

Implements

IDisposable IAsyncDisposable

Examples

The TextWriter class is an abstract class. Therefore, you do not instantiate it in your code. The StreamWriter class derives from TextWriter and provides implementations of the members for writing to a stream. The following example shows how to write two lines that consist of string values to a text file by using the WriteLineAsync(String) method.

using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleApplication
{
    class Program4
    {
        static void Main()
        {
            WriteCharacters();
        }

        static async void WriteCharacters()
        {
            using (StreamWriter writer = File.CreateText("newfile.txt"))
            {
                await writer.WriteLineAsync("First line of example");
                await writer.WriteLineAsync("and second line");
            }
        }
    }
}

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text

Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        WriteCharacters()
    End Sub

    Async Sub WriteCharacters()
        Using writer As StreamWriter = File.CreateText("newfile.txt")
            Await writer.WriteLineAsync("First line of example")
            Await writer.WriteLineAsync("and second line")
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

Remarks

TextWriter is the abstract base class of StreamWriter and StringWriter, which write characters to streams and strings, respectively. Use an instance of TextWriter to write an object to a string, write strings to a file, or to serialize XML. You can also use the instance of TextWriter to write text to a custom backing store using the same APIs you would use for a string or a stream, or to add support for text formatting.

All the Write methods of TextWriter having primitive data types as parameters write out the values as strings.

By default, a TextWriter is not thread safe. See TextWriter.Synchronized for a thread-safe wrapper.

Important

This type implements the IDisposable interface. When you have finished using any type that derives from this type, you should dispose of it either directly or indirectly. To dispose of the type directly, call its Dispose method in a try/catch block. To dispose of it indirectly, use a language construct such as using (in C#) or Using (in Visual Basic). For more information, see Dispose and the "Using an Object that Implements IDisposable" section in the IDisposable interface topic.

For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.

Notes to Implementers

A derived class must minimally implement the Write(Char) method to make a useful instance of TextWriter.

Constructors

TextWriter()	Initializes a new instance of the TextWriter class.
TextWriter(IFormatProvider)	Initializes a new instance of the TextWriter class with the specified format provider.

Fields

CoreNewLine	Stores the newline characters used for this TextWriter.
Null	Provides a TextWriter with no backing store that can be written to, but not read from.

Properties

Encoding	When overridden in a derived class, returns the character encoding in which the output is written.
FormatProvider	Gets an object that controls formatting.
NewLine	Gets or sets the line terminator string used by the current TextWriter.

Methods

Close()	Closes the current writer and releases any system resources associated with the writer.
CreateObjRef(Type)	Creates an object that contains all the relevant information required to generate a proxy used to communicate with a remote object. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
Dispose()	Releases all resources used by the TextWriter object.
Dispose(Boolean)	Releases the unmanaged resources used by the TextWriter and optionally releases the managed resources.
DisposeAsync()	Asynchronously releases all resources used by the TextWriter object.
Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
Flush()	Clears all buffers for the current writer and causes any buffered data to be written to the underlying device.
FlushAsync()	Asynchronously clears all buffers for the current writer and causes any buffered data to be written to the underlying device.
FlushAsync(CancellationToken)	Asynchronously clears all buffers for the current writer and causes any buffered data to be written to the underlying device.
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetLifetimeService()	Obsolete. Retrieves the current lifetime service object that controls the lifetime policy for this instance. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
InitializeLifetimeService()	Obsolete. Obtains a lifetime service object to control the lifetime policy for this instance. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone(Boolean)	Creates a shallow copy of the current MarshalByRefObject object. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
Synchronized(TextWriter)	Creates a thread-safe wrapper around the specified TextWriter.
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)
Write(Boolean)	Writes the text representation of a Boolean value to the text stream.
Write(Char)	Writes a character to the text stream.
Write(Char[])	Writes a character array to the text stream.
Write(Char[], Int32, Int32)	Writes a subarray of characters to the text stream.
Write(Decimal)	Writes the text representation of a decimal value to the text stream.
Write(Double)	Writes the text representation of an 8-byte floating-point value to the text stream.
Write(Int32)	Writes the text representation of a 4-byte signed integer to the text stream.
Write(Int64)	Writes the text representation of an 8-byte signed integer to the text stream.
Write(Object)	Writes the text representation of an object to the text stream by calling the ToString method on that object.
Write(ReadOnlySpan<Char>)	Writes a character span to the text stream.
Write(Single)	Writes the text representation of a 4-byte floating-point value to the text stream.
Write(String)	Writes a string to the text stream.
Write(String, Object)	Writes a formatted string to the text stream, using the same semantics as the Format(String, Object) method.
Write(String, Object, Object)	Writes a formatted string to the text stream using the same semantics as the Format(String, Object, Object) method.
Write(String, Object, Object, Object)	Writes a formatted string to the text stream, using the same semantics as the Format(String, Object, Object, Object) method.
Write(String, Object[])	Writes a formatted string to the text stream, using the same semantics as the Format(String, Object[]) method.
Write(StringBuilder)	Writes a string builder to the text stream.
Write(UInt32)	Writes the text representation of a 4-byte unsigned integer to the text stream.
Write(UInt64)	Writes the text representation of an 8-byte unsigned integer to the text stream.
WriteAsync(Char)	Writes a character to the text stream asynchronously.
WriteAsync(Char[])	Writes a character array to the text stream asynchronously.
WriteAsync(Char[], Int32, Int32)	Writes a subarray of characters to the text stream asynchronously.
WriteAsync(ReadOnlyMemory<Char>, CancellationToken)	Asynchronously writes a character memory region to the text stream.
WriteAsync(String)	Writes a string to the text stream asynchronously.
WriteAsync(StringBuilder, CancellationToken)	Asynchronously writes a string builder to the text stream.
WriteLine()	Writes a line terminator to the text stream.
WriteLine(Boolean)	Writes the text representation of a Boolean value to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Char)	Writes a character to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Char[])	Writes an array of characters to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Char[], Int32, Int32)	Writes a subarray of characters to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Decimal)	Writes the text representation of a decimal value to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Double)	Writes the text representation of a 8-byte floating-point value to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Int32)	Writes the text representation of a 4-byte signed integer to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Int64)	Writes the text representation of an 8-byte signed integer to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Object)	Writes the text representation of an object to the text stream, by calling the ToString method on that object, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(ReadOnlySpan<Char>)	Writes the text representation of a character span to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(Single)	Writes the text representation of a 4-byte floating-point value to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(String)	Writes a string to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(String, Object)	Writes a formatted string and a new line to the text stream, using the same semantics as the Format(String, Object) method.
WriteLine(String, Object, Object)	Writes a formatted string and a new line to the text stream, using the same semantics as the Format(String, Object, Object) method.
WriteLine(String, Object, Object, Object)	Writes out a formatted string and a new line to the text stream, using the same semantics as Format(String, Object).
WriteLine(String, Object[])	Writes out a formatted string and a new line to the text stream, using the same semantics as Format(String, Object).
WriteLine(StringBuilder)	Writes the text representation of a string builder to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(UInt32)	Writes the text representation of a 4-byte unsigned integer to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLine(UInt64)	Writes the text representation of an 8-byte unsigned integer to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLineAsync()	Asynchronously writes a line terminator to the text stream.
WriteLineAsync(Char)	Asynchronously writes a character to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLineAsync(Char[])	Asynchronously writes an array of characters to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLineAsync(Char[], Int32, Int32)	Asynchronously writes a subarray of characters to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLineAsync(ReadOnlyMemory<Char>, CancellationToken)	Asynchronously writes the text representation of a character memory region to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLineAsync(String)	Asynchronously writes a string to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.
WriteLineAsync(StringBuilder, CancellationToken)	Asynchronously writes the text representation of a string builder to the text stream, followed by a line terminator.

Extension Methods

ConfigureAwait(IAsyncDisposable, Boolean)

Configures how awaits on the tasks returned from an async disposable will be performed.

See also

• StreamWriter
• StringWriter
• File and Stream I/O
• How to: Read Text from a File
• How to: Write Text to a File
• How to: Read and Write to a Newly Created Data File