Java InputStream's read(byte[]) method

Question

First some background. Its not needed to answer the actual question, but maybe it'll help put things in perspective.

I have written an mp3 library in java (h) which reads out the information stored in the ID3 tag in an .mp3 file. Information about the song like the name of the song, the CD the song was released on, the track number, etc. are stored in this ID3 tag right at the beginning of an .mp3 file.

I have tested the library on 12,579 mp3 files which are located on my local hard drive, and it works flawlessly. Not a single IO error.

When I perform the same thing where the mp3 files are located on a web server, I get an IO error. Well, not actually an error. Actually its a difference in the behavior of the InputStream's read(byte[]) method.

The example below will illustrate the problem, which occurs when I'm trying to read an image file (.jpg, .gif, .png, etc) from the mp3 file.

// read bytes from an .mp3 file on your local hard drive
// reading from an input stream created this way works flawlessly
InputStream      inputStream = new FileInputStream("song.mp3");

// read bytes from an .mp3 file given by a url
// reading from an input stream created this way fails every time.
URL               url            = "http://localhost/song.mp3");
HttpURLConnection httpConnection = (HttpURLConnection)url.openConnection();
httpConnection.connect();
InputStream       inputStream    = url.openStream();


int    size         = 25000;            // size of the image file 
byte[] buffer       = new byte[size];
int    numBytesRead = inputStream.read(buffer);

if (numBytesRead != buffer.length)
   throw new IOException("Error reading the bytes into the buffer.  Expected " + buffer.length + " bytes but got " + numBytesRead + " bytes");

So, my observation is: Calling inputStream.read(buffer); always reads the entire number of bytes when the input stream is a FileInputStream. But it only reads a partial amount when I am using an input stream obtained from an http connection.

And hence my question is: In general, can I not assume that the InputStream's read(byte[]) method will block until the entire number of bytes has been read (or EOF is reached)? That is, have I assumed behavior that is not true of the read(byte[]) method, and I've just gotten lucky working with FileInputStream?

Is the correct, and general behavior of InputStream.read(byte[]) that I need to put the call in a loop and keep reading bytes until the desired number of bytes have been read, or EOF has been reached? Something like the code below:

int    size        = 25000;
byte[] buffer      = new byte[size];
int numBytesRead   = 0;
int totalBytesRead = 0;

while (totalBytesRead != size && numBytesRead != -1)
{
   numBytesRead    = inputStream.read(buffer);
   totalBytesRead += numBytesRead
}

Jeffrey · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-16 19:23:38Z

3

Your conclusions are sound, take a look at the documentation for InputStream.read(byte[]):

Reads some number of bytes from the input stream and stores them into the buffer array b. The number of bytes actually read is returned as an integer. This method blocks until input data is available, end of file is detected, or an exception is thrown.

There is no guarantee that read(byte[]) will fill the array you have provided, only that it will either read at least 1 byte (provided your array's length is > 0), or it will return -1 to signal the EOS. This means that if you want to read bytes from an InputStream correctly, you must use a loop.

The loop you currently have has one bug in it. On the first iteration of the loop, you will read a certain number of bytes into your buffer, but on the second iteration you will overwrite some, or all, of those bytes. Take a look at InputStream.read(byte[], int, int).

answered Mar 16, 2013 at 19:23

Jeffrey

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joneric wennerstrom Over a year ago

Thanks. You guys are absolutely right. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

parsifal · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-16 19:24:36Z

3

And hence my question is: In general, can I not assume that the InputStream's read(byte[]) method will block until the entire number of bytes has been read (or EOF is reached)?

No. That's why the documentation says "The number of bytes actually read" and "there is an attempt to read at least one byte."

I need to put the call in a loop and keep reading bytes until the desired number of bytes have been read

Rather than reinvent the wheel, you can get an already-tested wheel at Jakarta Commons IO.

answered Mar 16, 2013 at 19:24

parsifal

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2 Comments

VGR Over a year ago

Or, if you don't want to depend on a third-party library, you can wrap your InputStream in a DataInputStream and use the DataInputStream.readFully(byte[]) method.

joneric wennerstrom Over a year ago

Thanks very much for the answer. It's just 4-5 lines of code to put the call in a loop as opposed to introducing a 3rd party dependency.

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