Learning Network Programming with Java

Summary

In this chapter, we examined the use of the NIO's channel and buffer classes. A channel connects to an external source and transfers data to and from a buffer. We illustrated channel sockets, which connect to another socket across the network.

Buffers are temporary repositories for data. Using a buffer allows data to be accessed either sequentially or randomly. There are many buffer operations, which makes this a good choice for many applications.

We examined several types of channel sockets, including the SocketChannel, ServerSocketChannel, and AsynchronousSocketChannel classes. The ServerSocketChannel class supports a server and uses an accept method to block until a client requests a connection. The method will return a SocketChannel ...