getParent() and getParentFile() Methods

In Java File class a member method getParent() returns the path name string of the parent directory named by this abstract path name, or null if this pathname does not name a parent.
getParentFile(): Returns the parent directory as a File object, or null if this File object does not have a parent.
Lets take an example to understand the method in a better way. In this example we will construct the file path using File constructor.

/**
 * Created by codebind.com.
 */
import java.io.File;
public class Sample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        File myFile = new File("C:" + File.separator + "jdk" + File.separator, "FileName.java");
        System.out.println(myFile.getParent());
        System.out.println(myFile.getParentFile());
        System.out.println(myFile);
    }
}

OUTPUT :
C:\jdk
C:\jdk
C:\jdk\FileName.java


Reference:
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/io/File.html