}
  }

  /**
   * Reads the first line from a file. The line does not include line-termination characters, but
   * does include other leading and trailing whitespace.
   *
   * @param file the file to read from
   * @param charset the charset used to decode the input stream; see {@link StandardCharsets} for
   *     helpful predefined constants
   * @return the first line, or null if the file is empty