/** 
     * @param filePath      name of file to open. The file can reside
     *                      anywhere in the classpath
     */
    private String readFileAsString(String filePath) throws java.io.IOException {
        StringBuffer fileData = new StringBuffer(1000);
        BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(this
            .getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(filePath)));
        char[] buf = new char[1024];
        int numRead = 0;
        while ((numRead = reader.read(buf)) != -1) {
            String readData = String.valueOf(buf, 0, numRead);
            fileData.append(readData);
            buf = new char[1024];
        }
        reader.close();
        return fileData.toString();
    }