Module java.base
Package java.io

Class Reader

java.lang.Object
java.io.Reader
All Implemented Interfaces:
Closeable, AutoCloseable, Readable
Direct Known Subclasses:
BufferedReader, CharArrayReader, FilterReader, InputStreamReader, PipedReader, StringReader

public abstract class Reader extends Object implements Readable, Closeable
Abstract class for reading character streams. The only methods that a subclass must implement are read(char[], int, int) and close(). Most subclasses, however, will override some of the methods defined here in order to provide higher efficiency, additional functionality, or both.
Since:
1.1
See Also:
  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    protected Object
    The object used to synchronize operations on this stream.
  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Modifier
    Constructor
    Description
    protected
    Creates a new character-stream reader whose critical sections will synchronize on the reader itself.
    protected
    Reader(Object lock)
    Creates a new character-stream reader whose critical sections will synchronize on the given object.
  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    abstract void
    Closes the stream and releases any system resources associated with it.
    void
    mark(int readAheadLimit)
    Marks the present position in the stream.
    boolean
    Tells whether this stream supports the mark() operation.
    static Reader
    Returns a new Reader that reads no characters.
    int
    Reads a single character.
    int
    read(char[] cbuf)
    Reads characters into an array.
    abstract int
    read(char[] cbuf, int off, int len)
    Reads characters into a portion of an array.
    int
    read(CharBuffer target)
    Attempts to read characters into the specified character buffer.
    boolean
    Tells whether this stream is ready to be read.
    void
    Resets the stream.
    long
    skip(long n)
    Skips characters.
    long
    Reads all characters from this reader and writes the characters to the given writer in the order that they are read.

    Methods declared in class java.lang.Object

    clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
  • Field Details

    • lock

      protected Object lock
      The object used to synchronize operations on this stream. For efficiency, a character-stream object may use an object other than itself to protect critical sections. A subclass should therefore use the object in this field rather than this or a synchronized method.
  • Constructor Details

    • Reader

      protected Reader()
      Creates a new character-stream reader whose critical sections will synchronize on the reader itself.
    • Reader

      protected Reader(Object lock)
      Creates a new character-stream reader whose critical sections will synchronize on the given object.
      Parameters:
      lock - The Object to synchronize on.
  • Method Details

    • nullReader

      public static Reader nullReader()
      Returns a new Reader that reads no characters. The returned stream is initially open. The stream is closed by calling the close() method. Subsequent calls to close() have no effect.

      While the stream is open, the read(), read(char[]), read(char[], int, int), read(CharBuffer), ready(), skip(long), and transferTo() methods all behave as if end of stream has been reached. After the stream has been closed, these methods all throw IOException.

      The markSupported() method returns false. The mark() and reset() methods throw an IOException.

      The object used to synchronize operations on the returned Reader is not specified.

      Returns:
      a Reader which reads no characters
      Since:
      11
    • read

      public int read(CharBuffer target) throws IOException
      Attempts to read characters into the specified character buffer. The buffer is used as a repository of characters as-is: the only changes made are the results of a put operation. No flipping or rewinding of the buffer is performed.
      Specified by:
      read in interface Readable
      Parameters:
      target - the buffer to read characters into
      Returns:
      The number of characters added to the buffer, or -1 if this source of characters is at its end
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs
      NullPointerException - if target is null
      ReadOnlyBufferException - if target is a read only buffer
      Since:
      1.5
    • read

      public int read() throws IOException
      Reads a single character. This method will block until a character is available, an I/O error occurs, or the end of the stream is reached.

      Subclasses that intend to support efficient single-character input should override this method.

      Returns:
      The character read, as an integer in the range 0 to 65535 (0x00-0xffff), or -1 if the end of the stream has been reached
      Throws:
      IOException - If an I/O error occurs
    • read

      public int read(char[] cbuf) throws IOException
      Reads characters into an array. This method will block until some input is available, an I/O error occurs, or the end of the stream is reached.

      If the length of cbuf is zero, then no characters are read and 0 is returned; otherwise, there is an attempt to read at least one character. If no character is available because the stream is at its end, the value -1 is returned; otherwise, at least one character is read and stored into cbuf.

      Parameters:
      cbuf - Destination buffer
      Returns:
      The number of characters read, or -1 if the end of the stream has been reached
      Throws:
      IOException - If an I/O error occurs
    • read

      public abstract int read(char[] cbuf, int off, int len) throws IOException
      Reads characters into a portion of an array. This method will block until some input is available, an I/O error occurs, or the end of the stream is reached.

      If len is zero, then no characters are read and 0 is returned; otherwise, there is an attempt to read at least one character. If no character is available because the stream is at its end, the value -1 is returned; otherwise, at least one character is read and stored into cbuf.

      Parameters:
      cbuf - Destination buffer
      off - Offset at which to start storing characters
      len - Maximum number of characters to read
      Returns:
      The number of characters read, or -1 if the end of the stream has been reached
      Throws:
      IndexOutOfBoundsException - If off is negative, or len is negative, or len is greater than cbuf.length - off
      IOException - If an I/O error occurs
    • skip

      public long skip(long n) throws IOException
      Skips characters. This method will block until some characters are available, an I/O error occurs, or the end of the stream is reached. If the stream is already at its end before this method is invoked, then no characters are skipped and zero is returned.
      Parameters:
      n - The number of characters to skip
      Returns:
      The number of characters actually skipped
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - If n is negative.
      IOException - If an I/O error occurs
    • ready

      public boolean ready() throws IOException
      Tells whether this stream is ready to be read.
      Returns:
      True if the next read() is guaranteed not to block for input, false otherwise. Note that returning false does not guarantee that the next read will block.
      Throws:
      IOException - If an I/O error occurs
    • markSupported

      public boolean markSupported()
      Tells whether this stream supports the mark() operation. The default implementation always returns false. Subclasses should override this method.
      Returns:
      true if and only if this stream supports the mark operation.
    • mark

      public void mark(int readAheadLimit) throws IOException
      Marks the present position in the stream. Subsequent calls to reset() will attempt to reposition the stream to this point. Not all character-input streams support the mark() operation.
      Parameters:
      readAheadLimit - Limit on the number of characters that may be read while still preserving the mark. After reading this many characters, attempting to reset the stream may fail.
      Throws:
      IOException - If the stream does not support mark(), or if some other I/O error occurs
    • reset

      public void reset() throws IOException
      Resets the stream. If the stream has been marked, then attempt to reposition it at the mark. If the stream has not been marked, then attempt to reset it in some way appropriate to the particular stream, for example by repositioning it to its starting point. Not all character-input streams support the reset() operation, and some support reset() without supporting mark().
      Throws:
      IOException - If the stream has not been marked, or if the mark has been invalidated, or if the stream does not support reset(), or if some other I/O error occurs
    • close

      public abstract void close() throws IOException
      Closes the stream and releases any system resources associated with it. Once the stream has been closed, further read(), ready(), mark(), reset(), or skip() invocations will throw an IOException. Closing a previously closed stream has no effect.
      Specified by:
      close in interface AutoCloseable
      Specified by:
      close in interface Closeable
      Throws:
      IOException - If an I/O error occurs
    • transferTo

      public long transferTo(Writer out) throws IOException
      Reads all characters from this reader and writes the characters to the given writer in the order that they are read. On return, this reader will be at end of the stream. This method does not close either reader or writer.

      This method may block indefinitely reading from the reader, or writing to the writer. The behavior for the case where the reader and/or writer is asynchronously closed, or the thread interrupted during the transfer, is highly reader and writer specific, and therefore not specified.

      If the total number of characters transferred is greater than Long.MAX_VALUE, then Long.MAX_VALUE will be returned.

      If an I/O error occurs reading from the reader or writing to the writer, then it may do so after some characters have been read or written. Consequently the reader may not be at end of the stream and one, or both, streams may be in an inconsistent state. It is strongly recommended that both streams be promptly closed if an I/O error occurs.

      Parameters:
      out - the writer, non-null
      Returns:
      the number of characters transferred
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs when reading or writing
      NullPointerException - if out is null
      Since:
      10