Java in a Nutshell, 5th Edition

Name

PrintStream

Synopsis

This class is a byte output stream that implements a number of methods for displaying textual representations of Java primitive data types. System.out and System.err are PrintStream objects. PrintStream converts characters to bytes using the platform’s default charset, or the charset or encoding named in the PrintStream( ) constructor invocation. In Java 5.0, convenience constructors allow you to specify a file (either as a file name or a File object) as the destination of a PrintStream. Prior to Java 5.0 the destination had to be another OutputStream object.

The print( ) methods output standard textual representations of each data type. The println( ) methods do the same and follow the representations with newlines. Each method converts a Java primitive type to a String representation and outputs the resulting string. When an Object is passed to a print( ) or println( ), it is converted to a String by calling its toString( ) method. In Java 5.0, you can also use the printf( ) methods (or the format( ) methods that behave identically) for formatted output. These methods behave like the format( ) method of a java.util.Formatter object that uses the PrintStream as its destination.

This class implements the java.lang.Appendable interface in Java 5.0, which makes it suitable for use with a java.util.Formatter.

See also PrintWriter for a character output stream with similar functionality. And see DataOutputStream for a byte output stream that outputs binary, ...