File returns always false for isDirectory and isFile in Java

Question

Why file returns false for isFile() method, even when it is file. And when it is directory, it returns false for isDirectory(). Am I doing something wrong? These files/directories I test don't exists, and I need to create these, so that is why I am testing if I should use createFile() or mkdir().

File file = new File("C:/Users/John/Desktop/MyDir/file.txt");
if(!file.exists())
{
    System.out.println("Is directory : " + file.isDirectory());         
    System.out.println("Is file : " + file.isFile());
}

Answer 1

In your if you're checking if the file doesn't exist. If it doesn't exist then it's neither a file nor a directory.

Java can't determine if your File object is a file or a directory only with a path string. The String could mean a file or a directory (you can have a folder named "file.txt" or a file with the same name).