CSV data reading in Selenium Java - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Reading CSV file with BufferedReader

What will be the output of this Selenium Java code snippet that reads a CSV file line by line and prints each line?

Selenium Java

import java.io.*;

public class CsvReader {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader("data.csv"));
        String line;
        while ((line = br.readLine()) != null) {
            System.out.println(line);
        }
        br.close();
    }
}

// Assume data.csv content:
// name,age,city
// Alice,30,New York
// Bob,25,Los Angeles

A

name,age,city
Alice,30,New York
Bob,25,Los Angeles

B

name;age;city
Alice;30;New York
Bob;25;Los Angeles

C

name|age|city
Alice|30|New York
Bob|25|Los Angeles

D SyntaxError at line 4

💡 Hint

Look carefully at how BufferedReader reads lines and prints them exactly as in the file.

BufferedReader reads each line as a string and prints it exactly. Since the CSV uses commas, the output lines contain commas.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Validating CSV data read into a list

Given this code snippet that reads CSV data into a List in Selenium Java, which assertion correctly verifies the second row's first column is 'Alice'?

Selenium Java

import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;

public class CsvData {
    public static List<String[]> readCsv(String filePath) throws IOException {
        List<String[]> data = new ArrayList<>();
        BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(filePath));
        String line;
        while ((line = br.readLine()) != null) {
            data.add(line.split(","));
        }
        br.close();
        return data;
    }
}

A assertFalse(data.get(1)[1].equals("Alice"));

B assertEquals("Alice", data.get(0)[1]);

C assertTrue(data.get(2)[0].equals("Alice"));

D assertEquals("Alice", data.get(1)[0]);

💡 Hint

Remember that list index 0 is the header row.

The first row (index 0) is the header, so the second row (index 1) contains 'Alice' in the first column (index 0).

🔧 Debug

advanced

Fixing CSV file path error in Selenium Java test

This Selenium Java code throws a FileNotFoundException when trying to read 'data.csv'. What is the most likely cause?

Selenium Java

BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new FileReader("data.csv"));
String line = br.readLine();
br.close();

A The BufferedReader class is not imported.

B The file 'data.csv' is not in the project root or working directory.

C The file 'data.csv' is empty.

D The FileReader constructor requires an absolute path.

💡 Hint

Check where the program looks for the file relative to the running location.

FileNotFoundException usually means the file path is incorrect or the file is missing in the expected directory.

❓ framework

advanced

Best practice for CSV data-driven tests in Selenium Java

Which approach is best to integrate CSV data reading into Selenium Java tests for multiple test cases?

A Use a TestNG DataProvider method that reads CSV and supplies data arrays to test methods.

B Manually read CSV inside each test method before assertions.

C Hardcode CSV data inside test methods as string arrays.

D Use Selenium WebDriver to open CSV files in browser and read data.

💡 Hint

Think about reusability and separation of test data from test logic.

TestNG DataProvider allows clean, reusable data-driven tests by reading CSV once and feeding data to multiple tests.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Handling special characters in CSV data reading

When reading CSV files with Selenium Java tests, which issue can arise if the CSV contains commas inside quoted fields, and how to handle it?

A Use String.split(",") and then trim quotes manually to fix fields.

B Commas inside quotes are ignored automatically by BufferedReader; no special handling needed.

C Splitting lines by comma directly breaks fields with commas inside quotes; use a CSV parsing library like OpenCSV to handle quoted fields correctly.

D Replace all commas with semicolons before reading to avoid issues.

💡 Hint

Think about how simple split by comma treats commas inside quotes.

Simple split by comma fails on quoted fields containing commas. Libraries like OpenCSV parse CSV correctly respecting quotes.