I/O in the Java 2 Platform

I/O functionality of the Java 2 Platform provides for system input and output through data streams, serialization and the file system. In v 1.4, a new I/O (NIO) API was introduced that provides new features and improved performance.

Class java.io.File in the Java 2 platform is a true abstract representation of file and directory pathnames. Class File supports temporary files, conversion of abstract pathnames to URL's, comparability, and access to additional file attributes.

Java 2 Platform I/O Features

• New I/O (NIO) API introduced in v1.4, which caused some changes in the java.io package
• Features of java.io.File added in the Java 2 Platform v1.2
• Other changes made to the java.io package in v1.2

Features introduced in JDK 1.1

For completeness, a discussion of the JDK 1.1 I/O changes can be found here:

• Character Streams

Additional I/O reference material

• Troubleshooting tips