Use the modern NIO.2 API for more robust and efficient file system operations.
NIO.2 (New I/O), introduced in Java 7, provides a modern and comprehensive API for file system interaction, largely superseding the older `java.io.File` class. The core of NIO.2 revolves around two main entry points: the `Path` interface and the `Files` utility class. A `Path` object represents a path to a file or directory in the file system. Unlike the `File` class, a `Path` is just a representation and doesn't necessarily mean the file or directory actually exists. Paths are created using the `Paths.get()` factory method, for example, `Path p = Paths.get("C:/data/myfile.txt");`. The `Files` class is a utility class that contains a rich set of static methods that operate on `Path` objects. These methods cover a wide range of common file operations. For example, you can check if a file exists with `Files.exists(p)`, create a directory with `Files.createDirectory(p)`, copy a file with `Files.copy(sourcePath, targetPath)`, and delete a file with `Files.delete(p)`. The `Files` class also provides highly efficient methods for reading and writing files. For small files, you can read all bytes or lines into memory with a single method call, such as `Files.readAllLines(p)`. For larger files, it provides stream-based access that is compatible with the classic I/O streams. The NIO.2 API generally provides better performance, more functionality (like access to file metadata), and throws more specific, helpful exceptions compared to the legacy `File` class, making it the recommended choice for modern Java applications.