Java I/O Streams

In Java, streams are the sequence of data that are read from the source and written to the
destination.

An input stream is used to read data from the source. And, an output stream is used to
write data to the destination.
class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
[Link]("Hello, World!");
}
}
For example, in our first Hello World example, we have used [Link] to print a string.
Here, the [Link] is a type of output stream.
Similarly, there are input streams to take input.

We will learn about input streams and output streams in detail in the later tutorials.
Types of Streams

Depending upon the data a stream holds, it can be classified into:

• Byte Stream

• Character Stream

Byte Stream
AD

Byte stream is used to read and write a single byte (8 bits) of data.

All byte stream classes are derived from base abstract classes
called InputStream and OutputStream.
To learn more, visit

• Java InputStream Class

• Java OutputStream Class

Character Stream

Character stream is used to read and write a single character of data.

All the character stream classes are derived from base abstract classes Reader and Writer.

Java Reader Class

The Reader class of the [Link] package is an abstract superclass that represents a stream of
characters.
Since Reader is an abstract class, it is not useful by itself. However, its subclasses can be
used to read data.

Subclasses of Reader

In order to use the functionality of Reader, we can use its subclasses. Some of them are:
• BufferedReader
• InputStreamReader
• FileReader
• StringReader

Subclasses of
Reader
We will learn about all these subclasses in the next tutorial.

Create a Reader
In order to create a Reader, we must import the [Link] package first. Once we import
the package, here is how we can create the reader.
// Creates a Reader
Reader input = new FileReader();
Here, we have created a reader using the FileReader class. It is because Reader is an abstract
class. Hence we cannot create an object of Reader.
Note: We can also create readers from other subclasses of Reader.

Methods of Reader

The Reader class provides different methods that are implemented by its subclasses. Here are
some of the commonly used methods:
• ready() - checks if the reader is ready to be read
• read(char[] array) - reads the characters from the stream and stores in the
specified array
• read(char[] array, int start, int length) - reads the number of characters equal
to length from the stream and stores in the specified array starting from the start
• mark() - marks the position in the stream up to which data has been read
• reset() - returns the control to the point in the stream where the mark is set
• skip() - discards the specified number of characters from the stream

Example: Reader Using FileReader

AD

Here is how we can implement Reader using the FileReader class.

Suppose we have a file named [Link] with the following content.
This is a line of text inside the file.
Let's try to read this file using FileReader (a subclass of Reader).
import [Link];
import [Link];

class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {

// Creates an array of character

char[] array = new char[100];

try {
// Creates a reader using the FileReader
Reader input = new FileReader("[Link]");

// Checks if reader is ready

[Link]("Is there data in the stream? " + [Link]());

// Reads characters
[Link](array);
[Link]("Data in the stream:");
[Link](array);

// Closes the reader

[Link]();
}

catch(Exception e) {
[Link]();
}
}
}
Output
Is there data in the stream? true
Data in the stream:
This is a line of text inside the file.
In the above example, we have created a reader using the FileReader class. The reader is
linked with the file [Link].
Reader input = new FileReader("[Link]");
To read data from the [Link] file, we have implemented these methods.
[Link](); // to read data from the reader
[Link](); // to close the reader

Java Writer Class

The Writer class of the [Link] package is an abstract superclass that represents a stream of
characters.
Since Writer is an abstract class, it is not useful by itself. However, its subclasses can be used
to write data.

Subclasses of Writer

In order to use the functionality of the Writer, we can use its subclasses. Some of them are:
• BufferedWriter
• OutputStreamWriter
• FileWriter
• StringWriter

Subclasses of
Writer
We will learn about all these subclasses in the next tutorial.

Create a Writer

In order to create a Writer, we must import the [Link] package first. Once we import
the package, here is how we can create the writer.
// Creates a Writer
Writer output = new FileWriter();
Here, we have created a writer named output using the FileWriter class. It is because
the Writer is an abstract class. Hence we cannot create an object of Writer.
Note: We can also create writers from other subclasses of the Writer class.

Methods of Writer
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The Writer class provides different methods that are implemented by its subclasses. Here are
some of the methods:
• write(char[] array) - writes the characters from the specified array to the output
stream
• write(String data) - writes the specified string to the writer
• append(char c) - inserts the specified character to the current writer
• flush() - forces to write all the data present in the writer to the corresponding
destination
• close() - closes the writer

Example: Writer Using FileWriter

Here is how we can implement the Writer using the FileWriter class.
import [Link];
import [Link];

public class Main {

public static void main(String args[]) {

String data = "This is the data in the output file";

try {
// Creates a Writer using FileWriter
Writer output = new FileWriter("[Link]");

// Writes string to the file

[Link](data);

// Closes the writer

[Link]();
}

catch (Exception e) {
[Link]();
 }
}
}
In the above example, we have created a writer using the FileWriter class. The writer is
linked with the file [Link].
Writer output = new FileWriter("[Link]");
To write data to the [Link] file, we have implemented these methods.
[Link](); // To write data to the file
[Link](); // To close the writer
When we run the program, the [Link] file is filled with the following content.
This is a line of text inside the file.