Module java.base
Package java.nio

Class Buffer

java.lang.Object
java.nio.Buffer
Direct Known Subclasses:
ByteBuffer, CharBuffer, DoubleBuffer, FloatBuffer, IntBuffer, LongBuffer, ShortBuffer
public abstract class Buffer extends Object
A container for data of a specific primitive type.

A buffer is a linear, finite sequence of elements of a specific primitive type. Aside from its content, the essential properties of a buffer are its capacity, limit, and position:

A buffer's capacity is the number of elements it contains. The capacity of a buffer is never negative and never changes.

A buffer's limit is the index of the first element that should not be read or written. A buffer's limit is never negative and is never greater than its capacity.

A buffer's position is the index of the next element to be read or written. A buffer's position is never negative and is never greater than its limit.

There is one subclass of this class for each non-boolean primitive type.

Transferring data

Each subclass of this class defines two categories of get and put operations:

Relative operations read or write one or more elements starting at the current position and then increment the position by the number of elements transferred. If the requested transfer exceeds the limit then a relative get operation throws a BufferUnderflowException and a relative put operation throws a BufferOverflowException; in either case, no data is transferred.

Absolute operations take an explicit element index and do not affect the position. Absolute get and put operations throw an IndexOutOfBoundsException if the index argument exceeds the limit.

Data may also, of course, be transferred in to or out of a buffer by the I/O operations of an appropriate channel, which are always relative to the current position.

Marking and resetting

A buffer's mark is the index to which its position will be reset when the reset method is invoked. The mark is not always defined, but when it is defined it is never negative and is never greater than the position. If the mark is defined then it is discarded when the position or the limit is adjusted to a value smaller than the mark. If the mark is not defined then invoking the reset method causes an InvalidMarkException to be thrown.

Invariants

The following invariant holds for the mark, position, limit, and capacity values:

0 <= mark <= position <= limit <= capacity

A newly-created buffer always has a position of zero and a mark that is undefined. The initial limit may be zero, or it may be some other value that depends upon the type of the buffer and the manner in which it is constructed. Each element of a newly-allocated buffer is initialized to zero.

Additional operations

In addition to methods for accessing the position, limit, and capacity values and for marking and resetting, this class also defines the following operations upon buffers:

  • clear() makes a buffer ready for a new sequence of channel-read or relative put operations: It sets the limit to the capacity and the position to zero.

  • flip() makes a buffer ready for a new sequence of channel-write or relative get operations: It sets the limit to the current position and then sets the position to zero.

  • rewind() makes a buffer ready for re-reading the data that it already contains: It leaves the limit unchanged and sets the position to zero.

  • The slice() and slice(index,length) methods create a subsequence of a buffer: They leave the limit and the position unchanged.

  • duplicate() creates a shallow copy of a buffer: It leaves the limit and the position unchanged.

Read-only buffers

Every buffer is readable, but not every buffer is writable. The mutation methods of each buffer class are specified as optional operations that will throw a ReadOnlyBufferException when invoked upon a read-only buffer. A read-only buffer does not allow its content to be changed, but its mark, position, and limit values are mutable. Whether or not a buffer is read-only may be determined by invoking its isReadOnly method.

Thread safety

Buffers are not safe for use by multiple concurrent threads. If a buffer is to be used by more than one thread then access to the buffer should be controlled by appropriate synchronization.

Invocation chaining

Methods in this class that do not otherwise have a value to return are specified to return the buffer upon which they are invoked. This allows method invocations to be chained; for example, the sequence of statements 

 b.flip();
 b.position(23);
 b.limit(42);
can be replaced by the single, more compact statement 
 b.flip().position(23).limit(42);
Since:
1.4

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    abstract Object
    array()
    Returns the array that backs this buffer  (optional operation).
    abstract int
    arrayOffset()
    Returns the offset within this buffer's backing array of the first element of the buffer  (optional operation).
    final int
    capacity()
    Returns this buffer's capacity.
    Buffer
    clear()
    Clears this buffer.
    abstract Buffer
    duplicate()
    Creates a new buffer that shares this buffer's content.
    Buffer
    flip()
    Flips this buffer.
    abstract boolean
    hasArray()
    Tells whether or not this buffer is backed by an accessible array.
    final boolean
    hasRemaining()
    Tells whether there are any elements between the current position and the limit.
    abstract boolean
    isDirect()
    Tells whether or not this buffer is direct.
    abstract boolean
    isReadOnly()
    Tells whether or not this buffer is read-only.
    final int
    limit()
    Returns this buffer's limit.
    Buffer
    limit(int newLimit)
    Sets this buffer's limit.
    Buffer
    mark()
    Sets this buffer's mark at its position.
    final int
    position()
    Returns this buffer's position.
    Buffer
    position(int newPosition)
    Sets this buffer's position.
    final int
    remaining()
    Returns the number of elements between the current position and the limit.
    Buffer
    reset()
    Resets this buffer's position to the previously-marked position.
    Buffer
    rewind()
    Rewinds this buffer.
    abstract Buffer
    slice()
    Creates a new buffer whose content is a shared subsequence of this buffer's content.
    abstract Buffer
    slice(int index, int length)
    Creates a new buffer whose content is a shared subsequence of this buffer's content.

    Methods declared in class java.lang.Object

    clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

  • Method Details

    • capacity

      public final int capacity()
      Returns this buffer's capacity.
      Returns:
      The capacity of this buffer

    • position

      public final int position()
      Returns this buffer's position.
      Returns:
      The position of this buffer

    • position

      public Buffer position(int newPosition)
      Sets this buffer's position. If the mark is defined and larger than the new position then it is discarded.
      Parameters:
      newPosition - The new position value; must be non-negative and no larger than the current limit
      Returns:
      This buffer
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - If the preconditions on newPosition do not hold

    • limit

      public final int limit()
      Returns this buffer's limit.
      Returns:
      The limit of this buffer

    • limit

      public Buffer limit(int newLimit)
      Sets this buffer's limit. If the position is larger than the new limit then it is set to the new limit. If the mark is defined and larger than the new limit then it is discarded.
      Parameters:
      newLimit - The new limit value; must be non-negative and no larger than this buffer's capacity
      Returns:
      This buffer
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - If the preconditions on newLimit do not hold

    • mark

      public Buffer mark()
      Sets this buffer's mark at its position.
      Returns:
      This buffer

    • reset

      public Buffer reset()
      Resets this buffer's position to the previously-marked position.

      Invoking this method neither changes nor discards the mark's value.

      Returns:
      This buffer
      Throws:
      InvalidMarkException - If the mark has not been set

    • clear

      public Buffer clear()
      Clears this buffer. The position is set to zero, the limit is set to the capacity, and the mark is discarded.

      Invoke this method before using a sequence of channel-read or put operations to fill this buffer. For example: 

       buf.clear();     // Prepare buffer for reading
 in.read(buf);    // Read data

      This method does not actually erase the data in the buffer, but it is named as if it did because it will most often be used in situations in which that might as well be the case.

      Returns:
      This buffer

    • flip

      public Buffer flip()
      Flips this buffer. The limit is set to the current position and then the position is set to zero. If the mark is defined then it is discarded.

      After a sequence of channel-read or put operations, invoke this method to prepare for a sequence of channel-write or relative get operations. For example: 

       buf.put(magic);    // Prepend header
 in.read(buf);      // Read data into rest of buffer
 buf.flip();        // Flip buffer
 out.write(buf);    // Write header + data to channel

      This method is often used in conjunction with the compact method when transferring data from one place to another.

      Returns:
      This buffer

    • rewind

      public Buffer rewind()
      Rewinds this buffer. The position is set to zero and the mark is discarded.

      Invoke this method before a sequence of channel-write or get operations, assuming that the limit has already been set appropriately. For example: 

       out.write(buf);    // Write remaining data
 buf.rewind();      // Rewind buffer
 buf.get(array);    // Copy data into array
      Returns:
      This buffer

    • remaining

      public final int remaining()
      Returns the number of elements between the current position and the limit.
      Returns:
      The number of elements remaining in this buffer

    • hasRemaining

      public final boolean hasRemaining()
      Tells whether there are any elements between the current position and the limit.
      Returns:
      true if, and only if, there is at least one element remaining in this buffer

    • isReadOnly

      public abstract boolean isReadOnly()
      Tells whether or not this buffer is read-only.
      Returns:
      true if, and only if, this buffer is read-only

    • hasArray

      public abstract boolean hasArray()
      Tells whether or not this buffer is backed by an accessible array.

      If this method returns true then the array and arrayOffset methods may safely be invoked.

      Returns:
      true if, and only if, this buffer is backed by an array and is not read-only
      Since:
      1.6

    • array

      public abstract Object array()
      Returns the array that backs this buffer  (optional operation).

      This method is intended to allow array-backed buffers to be passed to native code more efficiently. Concrete subclasses provide more strongly-typed return values for this method.

      Modifications to this buffer's content will cause the returned array's content to be modified, and vice versa.

      Invoke the hasArray method before invoking this method in order to ensure that this buffer has an accessible backing array.

      Returns:
      The array that backs this buffer
      Throws:
      ReadOnlyBufferException - If this buffer is backed by an array but is read-only
      UnsupportedOperationException - If this buffer is not backed by an accessible array
      Since:
      1.6

    • arrayOffset

      public abstract int arrayOffset()
      Returns the offset within this buffer's backing array of the first element of the buffer  (optional operation).

      If this buffer is backed by an array then buffer position p corresponds to array index p + arrayOffset().

      Invoke the hasArray method before invoking this method in order to ensure that this buffer has an accessible backing array.

      Returns:
      The offset within this buffer's array of the first element of the buffer
      Throws:
      ReadOnlyBufferException - If this buffer is backed by an array but is read-only
      UnsupportedOperationException - If this buffer is not backed by an accessible array
      Since:
      1.6

    • isDirect

      public abstract boolean isDirect()
      Tells whether or not this buffer is direct.
      Returns:
      true if, and only if, this buffer is direct
      Since:
      1.6

    • slice

      public abstract Buffer slice()
      Creates a new buffer whose content is a shared subsequence of this buffer's content.

      The content of the new buffer will start at this buffer's current position. Changes to this buffer's content will be visible in the new buffer, and vice versa; the two buffers' position, limit, and mark values will be independent.

      The new buffer's position will be zero, its capacity and its limit will be the number of elements remaining in this buffer, its mark will be undefined. The new buffer will be direct if, and only if, this buffer is direct, and it will be read-only if, and only if, this buffer is read-only.

      Returns:
      The new buffer
      Since:
      9

    • slice

      public abstract Buffer slice(int index, int length)
      Creates a new buffer whose content is a shared subsequence of this buffer's content.

      The content of the new buffer will start at position index in this buffer, and will contain length elements. Changes to this buffer's content will be visible in the new buffer, and vice versa; the two buffers' position, limit, and mark values will be independent.

      The new buffer's position will be zero, its capacity and its limit will be length, its mark will be undefined. The new buffer will be direct if, and only if, this buffer is direct, and it will be read-only if, and only if, this buffer is read-only.

      Parameters:
      index - The position in this buffer at which the content of the new buffer will start; must be non-negative and no larger than limit()
      length - The number of elements the new buffer will contain; must be non-negative and no larger than limit() - index
      Returns:
      The new buffer
      Throws:
      IndexOutOfBoundsException - If index is negative or greater than limit(), length is negative, or length > limit() - index
      Since:
      13

    • duplicate

      public abstract Buffer duplicate()
      Creates a new buffer that shares this buffer's content.

      The content of the new buffer will be that of this buffer. Changes to this buffer's content will be visible in the new buffer, and vice versa; the two buffers' position, limit, and mark values will be independent.

      The new buffer's capacity, limit, position and mark values will be identical to those of this buffer. The new buffer will be direct if, and only if, this buffer is direct, and it will be read-only if, and only if, this buffer is read-only.

      Returns:
      The new buffer
      Since:
      9