Java in a Nutshell, 5th Edition

Name

InputStream

Synopsis

This abstract class is the superclass of all input streams. It defines the basic input methods all input stream classes provide. read( ) reads a single byte or an array (or subarray) of bytes. It returns the bytes read, the number of bytes read, or -1 if the end-of-file has been reached. skip( ) skips a specified number of bytes of input. available( ) returns the number of bytes that can be read without blocking. close( ) closes the input stream and frees up any system resources associated with it. The stream should not be used after close( ) has been called.

If markSupported( ) returns true for a given InputStream, that stream supports mark( ) and reset( ) methods. mark( ) marks the current position in the input stream so that reset( ) can return to that position (as long as no more than the specified number of bytes have been read between the calls to mark( ) and reset( )). See also Reader.

Figure 9-25. java.io.InputStream

public abstract class InputStream implements Closeable {
// Public Constructors
     public InputStream( );  
// Public Instance Methods
     public int available( ) throws IOException;                       constant
     public void close( ) throws IOException;    Implements:Closeable empty
     public void mark(int readlimit);                    synchronized empty
     public boolean markSupported( );                                  constant
     public abstract int read( ) throws IOException;  
     public int read(byte[ ] b) throws IOException; ...