/* * Copyright 2001-2005 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER. * * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as * published by the Free Software Foundation. Sun designates this * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided * by Sun in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code. * * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that * accompanied this code). * * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA. * * Please contact Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara, * CA 95054 USA or visit www.sun.com if you need additional information or * have any questions. */ /** * Defines channels, which represent connections to entities that are capable of * performing I/O operations, such as files and sockets; defines selectors, for * multiplexed, non-blocking I/O operations. * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Channels

Description

{@link java.nio.channels.Channel}A nexus for I/O operations
  {@link java.nio.channels.ReadableByteChannel}Can read into a buffer
    {@link java.nio.channels.ScatteringByteChannel}  Can read into a sequence of buffers
  {@link java.nio.channels.WritableByteChannel}Can write from a buffer
    {@link java.nio.channels.GatheringByteChannel}Can write from a sequence of buffers
  {@link java.nio.channels.ByteChannel}Can read/write to/from a buffer
    {@link java.nio.channels.SeekableByteChannel}A {@code ByteChannel} connected to an entity that contains a variable-length sequence of bytes
  {@link java.nio.channels.NetworkChannel}A channel to a network socket
    {@link java.nio.channels.MulticastChannel}Can join Internet Protocol (IP) multicast groups
{@link java.nio.channels.Channels}Utility methods for channel/stream interoperation
* *

A channel represents an open connection to an entity such as a * hardware device, a file, a network socket, or a program component that is * capable of performing one or more distinct I/O operations, for example reading * or writing. As specified in the {@link java.nio.channels.Channel} interface, * channels are either open or closed, and they are both asynchronously * closeable and interruptible. * *

The {@link java.nio.channels.Channel} interface is extended by several * other interfaces. * *

The {@link java.nio.channels.ReadableByteChannel} interface specifies a * {@link java.nio.channels.ReadableByteChannel#read read} method that reads bytes * from the channel into a buffer; similarly, the {@link * java.nio.channels.WritableByteChannel} interface specifies a {@link * java.nio.channels.WritableByteChannel#write write} method that writes bytes * from a buffer to the channel. The {@link java.nio.channels.ByteChannel} * interface unifies these two interfaces for the common case of channels that can * both read and write bytes. The {@link java.nio.channels.SeekableByteChannel} * interface extends the {@code ByteChannel} interface with methods to {@link * java.nio.channels.SeekableByteChannel#position() query} and {@link * java.nio.channels.SeekableByteChannel#position(long) modify} the channel's * current position, and its {@link java.nio.channels.SeekableByteChannel#size * size}. * *

The {@link java.nio.channels.ScatteringByteChannel} and {@link * java.nio.channels.GatheringByteChannel} interfaces extend the {@link * java.nio.channels.ReadableByteChannel} and {@link * java.nio.channels.WritableByteChannel} interfaces, respectively, adding {@link * java.nio.channels.ScatteringByteChannel#read read} and {@link * java.nio.channels.GatheringByteChannel#write write} methods that take a * sequence of buffers rather than a single buffer. * *

The {@link java.nio.channels.NetworkChannel} interface specifies methods * to {@link java.nio.channels.NetworkChannel#bind bind} the channel's socket, * obtain the address to which the socket is bound, and methods to {@link * java.nio.channels.NetworkChannel#getOption get} and {@link * java.nio.channels.NetworkChannel#setOption set} socket options. The {@link * java.nio.channels.MulticastChannel} interface specifies methods to join * Internet Protocol (IP) multicast groups. * *

The {@link java.nio.channels.Channels} utility class defines static methods * that support the interoperation of the stream classes of the {@link * java.io} package with the channel classes of this package. An appropriate * channel can be constructed from an {@link java.io.InputStream} or an {@link * java.io.OutputStream}, and conversely an {@link java.io.InputStream} or an * {@link java.io.OutputStream} can be constructed from a channel. A {@link * java.io.Reader} can be constructed that uses a given charset to decode bytes * from a given readable byte channel, and conversely a {@link java.io.Writer} can * be constructed that uses a given charset to encode characters into bytes and * write them to a given writable byte channel. * *

* * * * * * * *

File channels

Description

{@link java.nio.channels.FileChannel}Reads, writes, maps, and manipulates files
{@link java.nio.channels.FileLock}A lock on a (region of a) file
{@link java.nio.MappedByteBuffer}/{@link java.nio.MappedBigByteBuffer}  A direct byte buffer or big byte buffer mapped to a region of a file
* *

The {@link java.nio.channels.FileChannel} class supports the usual * operations of reading bytes from, and writing bytes to, a channel connected to * a file, as well as those of querying and modifying the current file position * and truncating the file to a specific size. It defines methods for acquiring * locks on the whole file or on a specific region of a file; these methods return * instances of the {@link java.nio.channels.FileLock} class. Finally, it defines * methods for forcing updates to the file to be written to the storage device that * contains it, for efficiently transferring bytes between the file and other * channels, and for mapping a region of the file directly into memory. * *

A {@code FileChannel} is created by invoking one of its static {@link * java.nio.channels.FileChannel#open open} methods, or by invoking the {@code * getChannel} method of a {@link java.io.FileInputStream}, {@link * java.io.FileOutputStream}, or {@link java.io.RandomAccessFile} to return a * file channel connected to the same underlying file as the {@link java.io} * class. * * *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Multiplexed, non-blocking I/O

Description

{@link java.nio.channels.SelectableChannel}A channel that can be multiplexed
  {@link java.nio.channels.DatagramChannel}A channel to a datagram-oriented socket
  {@link java.nio.channels.Pipe.SinkChannel}The write end of a pipe
  {@link java.nio.channels.Pipe.SourceChannel}The read end of a pipe
  {@link java.nio.channels.ServerSocketChannel}  A channel to a stream-oriented listening socket
  {@link java.nio.channels.SocketChannel}A channel for a stream-oriented connecting socket
{@link java.nio.channels.Selector}A multiplexor of selectable channels
{@link java.nio.channels.SelectionKey}A token representing the registration
of a channel * with a selector
{@link java.nio.channels.Pipe}Two channels that form a unidirectional pipe
* *

Multiplexed, non-blocking I/O, which is much more scalable than * thread-oriented, blocking I/O, is provided by selectors, selectable * channels, and selection keys. * *

A selector is a multiplexor of selectable channels, which in turn are * a special type of channel that can be put into non-blocking mode. To perform * multiplexed I/O operations, one or more selectable channels are first created, * put into non-blocking mode, and {@link * java.nio.channels.SelectableChannel#register registered} * with a selector. Registering a channel specifies the set of I/O operations * that will be tested for readiness by the selector, and returns a selection key that represents the * registration. * *

Once some channels have been registered with a selector, a selection operation can be performed in * order to discover which channels, if any, have become ready to perform one or * more of the operations in which interest was previously declared. If a channel * is ready then the key returned when it was registered will be added to the * selector's selected-key set. The key set, and the keys within it, can * be examined in order to determine the operations for which each channel is * ready. From each key one can retrieve the corresponding channel in order to * perform whatever I/O operations are required. * *

That a selection key indicates that its channel is ready for some operation * is a hint, but not a guarantee, that such an operation can be performed by a * thread without causing the thread to block. It is imperative that code that * performs multiplexed I/O be written so as to ignore these hints when they prove * to be incorrect. * *

This package defines selectable-channel classes corresponding to the {@link * java.net.DatagramSocket}, {@link java.net.ServerSocket}, and {@link * java.net.Socket} classes defined in the {@link java.net} package. * Minor changes to these classes have been made in order to support sockets that * are associated with channels. This package also defines a simple class that * implements unidirectional pipes. In all cases, a new selectable channel is * created by invoking the static open method of the corresponding class. * If a channel needs an associated socket then a socket will be created as a side * effect of this operation. * *

The implementation of selectors, selectable channels, and selection keys * can be replaced by "plugging in" an alternative definition or instance of the * {@link java.nio.channels.spi.SelectorProvider} class defined in the {@link * java.nio.channels.spi} package. It is not expected that many developers * will actually make use of this facility; it is provided primarily so that * sophisticated users can take advantage of operating-system-specific * I/O-multiplexing mechanisms when very high performance is required. * *

Much of the bookkeeping and synchronization required to implement the * multiplexed-I/O abstractions is performed by the {@link * java.nio.channels.spi.AbstractInterruptibleChannel}, {@link * java.nio.channels.spi.AbstractSelectableChannel}, {@link * java.nio.channels.spi.AbstractSelectionKey}, and {@link * java.nio.channels.spi.AbstractSelector} classes in the {@link * java.nio.channels.spi} package. When defining a custom selector provider, * only the {@link java.nio.channels.spi.AbstractSelector} and {@link * java.nio.channels.spi.AbstractSelectionKey} classes should be subclassed * directly; custom channel classes should extend the appropriate {@link * java.nio.channels.SelectableChannel} subclasses defined in this package. * *


*

Unless otherwise noted, passing a null argument to a constructor * or method in any class or interface in this package will cause a {@link * java.lang.NullPointerException NullPointerException} to be thrown. * * @since 1.4 * @author Mark Reinhold * @author JSR-51 Expert Group */ package java.nio.channels;