What does abstract path means in java.io?

Question

In java doc about

File#getPath()

writes:

 Converts this abstract pathname into a pathname string.

I try to write1

File file3 = new File("D:\\work");
System.out.println(file3.getPath());

In cmd I see D:\\work

I try to write2:

File file4= new File("file4");
System.out.println(file4.getPath());

In cmd I see:

file4

Thus I have a question:

What the difference between

abstract pathname

and

pathname string

?

Answer 1

An abstract pathname is a java.io.File object and a pathname string is a java.lang.String object. Both reference the same file on the disk.

How do I know?

The first sentence of the Javadoc of java.io.File explains:

An abstract representation of file and directory pathnames.

It goes on to explain why:

User interfaces and operating systems use system-dependent pathname strings to name files and directories. This class presents an abstract, system-independent view of hierarchical pathnames.

Answer 2

The abstract pathname is just the string form of the file/location held in the File object.

If you check the javadoc of File#toString():

Returns the pathname string of this abstract pathname. This is just the string returned by the getPath() method.