The createFromFile() Alternative

In an earlier chapter, we explored createFromAsset() as a way to set up a Room database from an existing database copy, in this case packaged as an asset.

There is also createFromFile(). This works just like createFromAsset(), but it takes a File parameter that should point to a readable file containing the database copy.

For restoring from a backup or importing from a database, this is more convenient than is the manual-copy-from-a-stream approach used in this chapter’s sample. However, it only works with files, which is an unfortunate limitation. The sample uses Uri, not File, to identify the location of the backup, and so createFromFile() is not an available alternative.