What is the difference between relative paths and absolute paths in Java?

In Java, paths can be divided into two types: relative paths and absolute paths.

1. Relative paths: Relative paths are paths that are relative to the current working directory or a base directory. They do not start from the root directory of the file system, but rather from a specific location. In Java, relative paths are often used when a complete path is not specified. For example, “./file.txt” represents the file file.txt in the current directory.
2. Absolute path: An absolute path is the full path starting from the root directory of the file system. It specifies the complete path of a file, independent of the current working directory or base directory. In Java, using absolute paths ensures accurate locating of files. For example, “C:\Users\username\file.txt” represents the file.txt file in the user’s directory.

Therefore, the main difference between relative paths and absolute paths is that relative paths are in relation to a specific location, while absolute paths start from the root directory of the file system. In actual development, it is important to choose between using relative paths or absolute paths based on specific requirements.