public abstract class java.net
URLConnection


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Java SE 6
  
Extended by: HttpURLConnection, JarURLConnection
Details
The abstract class URLConnection is the superclass of all classes that represent a communications link between the application and a URL. Instances of this class can be used both to read from and to write to the resource referenced by the URL. In general, creating a connection to a URL is a multistep process:

openConnection() connect()
Manipulate parameters that affect the connection to the remote resource. Interact with the resource; query header fields and contents.
---------------------------->
time
  1. The connection object is created by invoking the openConnection method on a URL.
  2. The setup parameters and general request properties are manipulated.
  3. The actual connection to the remote object is made, using the connect method.
  4. The remote object becomes available. The header fields and the contents of the remote object can be accessed.

The setup parameters are modified using the following methods:

and the general request properties are modified using the method:

Default values for the AllowUserInteraction and UseCaches parameters can be set using the methods setDefaultAllowUserInteraction and setDefaultUseCaches.

Each of the above set methods has a corresponding get method to retrieve the value of the parameter or general request property. The specific parameters and general request properties that are applicable are protocol specific.

The following methods are used to access the header fields and the contents after the connection is made to the remote object:

Certain header fields are accessed frequently. The methods:

provide convenient access to these fields. The getContentType method is used by the getContent method to determine the type of the remote object; subclasses may find it convenient to override the getContentType method.

In the common case, all of the pre-connection parameters and general request properties can be ignored: the pre-connection parameters and request properties default to sensible values. For most clients of this interface, there are only two interesting methods: getInputStream and getContent, which are mirrored in the URL class by convenience methods.

More information on the request properties and header fields of an http connection can be found at:

 http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2068.txt
 
Note about fileNameMap: In versions prior to JDK 1.1.6, field fileNameMap of URLConnection was public. In JDK 1.1.6 and later, fileNameMap is private; accessor and mutator methods getFileNameMap and setFileNameMap are added to access it. This change is also described on the Compatibility page. Invoking the close() methods on the InputStream or OutputStream of an URLConnection after a request may free network resources associated with this instance, unless particular protocol specifications specify different behaviours for it.
version1.106, 06/28/06
sinceJDK1.0
See also openConnection(), connect(), getContent(), getContentEncoding(), getContentLength(), getContentType(), getDate(), getExpiration(), getHeaderField(int), getHeaderField(java.lang.String), getInputStream(), getLastModified(), getOutputStream(), setAllowUserInteraction(boolean), setDefaultUseCaches(boolean), setDoInput(boolean), setDoOutput(boolean), setIfModifiedSince(long), setRequestProperty(java.lang.String, java.lang.String), setUseCaches(boolean)

Fields
protected URL url Details
The URL represents the remote object on the World Wide Web to which this connection is opened.

The value of this field can be accessed by the getURL method.

The default value of this variable is the value of the URL argument in the URLConnection constructor.
See also getURL(), url

protected boolean doInput Details
This variable is set by the setDoInput method. Its value is returned by the getDoInput method.

A URL connection can be used for input and/or output. Setting the doInput flag to true indicates that the application intends to read data from the URL connection.

The default value of this field is true.
See also getDoInput(), setDoInput(boolean)

protected boolean doOutput Details
This variable is set by the setDoOutput method. Its value is returned by the getDoOutput method.

A URL connection can be used for input and/or output. Setting the doOutput flag to true indicates that the application intends to write data to the URL connection.

The default value of this field is false.
See also getDoOutput(), setDoOutput(boolean)

protected boolean allowUserInteraction Details
If true, this URL is being examined in a context in which it makes sense to allow user interactions such as popping up an authentication dialog. If false, then no user interaction is allowed.

The value of this field can be set by the setAllowUserInteraction method. Its value is returned by the getAllowUserInteraction method. Its default value is the value of the argument in the last invocation of the setDefaultAllowUserInteraction method.
See also getAllowUserInteraction(), setAllowUserInteraction(boolean), setDefaultAllowUserInteraction(boolean)

protected boolean useCaches Details
If true, the protocol is allowed to use caching whenever it can. If false, the protocol must always try to get a fresh copy of the object.

This field is set by the setUseCaches method. Its value is returned by the getUseCaches method.

Its default value is the value given in the last invocation of the setDefaultUseCaches method.
See also setUseCaches(boolean), getUseCaches(), setDefaultUseCaches(boolean)

protected long ifModifiedSince Details
Some protocols support skipping the fetching of the object unless the object has been modified more recently than a certain time.

A nonzero value gives a time as the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, GMT. The object is fetched only if it has been modified more recently than that time.

This variable is set by the setIfModifiedSince method. Its value is returned by the getIfModifiedSince method.

The default value of this field is 0, indicating that the fetching must always occur.
See also getIfModifiedSince(), setIfModifiedSince(long)

protected boolean connected
If false, this connection object has not created a communications link to the specified URL. If true, the communications link has been established.

Constructors
protected URLConnection(URL url) Details
Constructs a URL connection to the specified URL. A connection to the object referenced by the URL is not created.
urlthe specified URL.

Methods
public void addRequestProperty(String key, String value) Details
Adds a general request property specified by a key-value pair. This method will not overwrite existing values associated with the same key.
keythe keyword by which the request is known (e.g., "accept").
valuethe value associated with it.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
ThrowsNullPointerException: if key is null
since1.4
See also getRequestProperties()
abstract public void connect() throws IOException Details
Opens a communications link to the resource referenced by this URL, if such a connection has not already been established.

If the connect method is called when the connection has already been opened (indicated by the connected field having the value true), the call is ignored.

URLConnection objects go through two phases: first they are created, then they are connected. After being created, and before being connected, various options can be specified (e.g., doInput and UseCaches). After connecting, it is an error to try to set them. Operations that depend on being connected, like getContentLength, will implicitly perform the connection, if necessary.
ThrowsSocketTimeoutException: if the timeout expires before the connection can be established
ThrowsIOException: if an I/O error occurs while opening the connection.
See also connected, getConnectTimeout(), setConnectTimeout(int)

public static String guessContentTypeFromName(String fname) Details
Tries to determine the content type of an object, based on the specified "file" component of a URL. This is a convenience method that can be used by subclasses that override the getContentType method.
fnamea filename.
returna guess as to what the content type of the object is, based upon its file name.
See also getContentType()
public static String guessContentTypeFromStream(InputStream is) throws IOException Details
Tries to determine the type of an input stream based on the characters at the beginning of the input stream. This method can be used by subclasses that override the getContentType method.

Ideally, this routine would not be needed. But many http servers return the incorrect content type; in addition, there are many nonstandard extensions. Direct inspection of the bytes to determine the content type is often more accurate than believing the content type claimed by the http server.
isan input stream that supports marks.
returna guess at the content type, or null if none can be determined.
ThrowsIOException: if an I/O error occurs while reading the input stream.
See also mark(int), markSupported(), getContentType()

public String toString() Details
Returns a String representation of this URL connection.
returna string representation of this URLConnection.

Properties
public void setAllowUserInteraction(boolean allowuserinteraction) Details
Set the value of the allowUserInteraction field of this URLConnection.
allowuserinteractionthe new value.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
See also getAllowUserInteraction()
public boolean getAllowUserInteraction() Details
Returns the value of the allowUserInteraction field for this object.
returnthe value of the allowUserInteraction field for this object.
See also setAllowUserInteraction(boolean)
public void setConnectTimeout(int timeout) Details
Sets a specified timeout value, in milliseconds, to be used when opening a communications link to the resource referenced by this URLConnection. If the timeout expires before the connection can be established, a java.net.SocketTimeoutException is raised. A timeout of zero is interpreted as an infinite timeout.

Some non-standard implmentation of this method may ignore the specified timeout. To see the connect timeout set, please call getConnectTimeout().
timeoutan int that specifies the connect timeout value in milliseconds
ThrowsIllegalArgumentException: if the timeout parameter is negative
since1.5
See also getConnectTimeout(), connect()

public int getConnectTimeout() Details
Returns setting for connect timeout.

0 return implies that the option is disabled (i.e., timeout of infinity).
returnan int that indicates the connect timeout value in milliseconds
since1.5
See also setConnectTimeout(int), connect()

public Object getContent() throws IOException Details
Retrieves the contents of this URL connection.

This method first determines the content type of the object by calling the getContentType method. If this is the first time that the application has seen that specific content type, a content handler for that content type is created:

  1. If the application has set up a content handler factory instance using the setContentHandlerFactory method, the createContentHandler method of that instance is called with the content type as an argument; the result is a content handler for that content type.
  2. If no content handler factory has yet been set up, or if the factory's createContentHandler method returns null, then the application loads the class named:
             sun.net.www.content.<contentType>
         
    where <contentType> is formed by taking the content-type string, replacing all slash characters with a period ('.'), and all other non-alphanumeric characters with the underscore character '_'. The alphanumeric characters are specifically the 26 uppercase ASCII letters 'A' through 'Z', the 26 lowercase ASCII letters 'a' through 'z', and the 10 ASCII digits '0' through '9'. If the specified class does not exist, or is not a subclass of ContentHandler, then an UnknownServiceException is thrown.
returnthe object fetched. The instanceof operator should be used to determine the specific kind of object returned.
ThrowsIOException: if an I/O error occurs while getting the content.
ThrowsUnknownServiceException: if the protocol does not support the content type.
See also createContentHandler(java.lang.String), getContentType(), setContentHandlerFactory(java.net.ContentHandlerFactory)
public Object getContent(Class[] classes) throws IOException Details
Retrieves the contents of this URL connection.
classesthe Class array indicating the requested types
returnthe object fetched that is the first match of the type specified in the classes array. null if none of the requested types are supported. The instanceof operator should be used to determine the specific kind of object returned.
ThrowsIOException: if an I/O error occurs while getting the content.
ThrowsUnknownServiceException: if the protocol does not support the content type.
since1.3
See also getContent(), createContentHandler(java.lang.String), getContent(java.lang.Class[]), setContentHandlerFactory(java.net.ContentHandlerFactory)
public String getContentEncoding() Details
Returns the value of the content-encoding header field.
returnthe content encoding of the resource that the URL references, or null if not known.
See also getHeaderField(java.lang.String)
public static void setContentHandlerFactory(ContentHandlerFactory fac) Details
Sets the ContentHandlerFactory of an application. It can be called at most once by an application.

The ContentHandlerFactory instance is used to construct a content handler from a content type

If there is a security manager, this method first calls the security manager's checkSetFactory method to ensure the operation is allowed. This could result in a SecurityException.
facthe desired factory.
ThrowsError: if the factory has already been defined.
ThrowsSecurityException: if a security manager exists and its checkSetFactory method doesn't allow the operation.
See also java.net.ContentHandlerFactory, getContent(), checkSetFactory

public int getContentLength() Details
Returns the value of the content-length header field.
returnthe content length of the resource that this connection's URL references, or -1 if the content length is not known.
public String getContentType() Details
Returns the value of the content-type header field.
returnthe content type of the resource that the URL references, or null if not known.
See also getHeaderField(java.lang.String)
public long getDate() Details
Returns the value of the date header field.
returnthe sending date of the resource that the URL references, or 0 if not known. The value returned is the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 GMT.
See also getHeaderField(java.lang.String)
public static void setDefaultAllowUserInteraction(boolean defaultallowuserinteraction) Details
Sets the default value of the allowUserInteraction field for all future URLConnection objects to the specified value.
defaultallowuserinteractionthe new value.
See also getDefaultAllowUserInteraction()
public static boolean getDefaultAllowUserInteraction() Details
Returns the default value of the allowUserInteraction field.

Ths default is "sticky", being a part of the static state of all URLConnections. This flag applies to the next, and all following URLConnections that are created.
returnthe default value of the allowUserInteraction field.
See also setDefaultAllowUserInteraction(boolean)

public static void
setDefaultRequestProperty(String key, String value)
Details
Sets the default value of a general request property. When a URLConnection is created, it is initialized with these properties.
keythe keyword by which the request is known (e.g., "accept").
valuethe value associated with the key.
deprecatedThe instance specific setRequestProperty method should be used after an appropriate instance of URLConnection is obtained. Invoking this method will have no effect.
See also setRequestProperty(java.lang.String,java.lang.String), getDefaultRequestProperty(java.lang.String)
public static String
getDefaultRequestProperty(String key)
Details
Returns the value of the default request property. Default request properties are set for every connection.
keythe keyword by which the request is known (e.g., "accept").
returnthe value of the default request property for the specified key.
deprecatedThe instance specific getRequestProperty method should be used after an appropriate instance of URLConnection is obtained.
See also getRequestProperty(java.lang.String), setDefaultRequestProperty(java.lang.String, java.lang.String)
public void setDefaultUseCaches(boolean defaultusecaches) Details
Sets the default value of the useCaches field to the specified value.
defaultusecachesthe new value.
See also getDefaultUseCaches()
public boolean getDefaultUseCaches() Details
Returns the default value of a URLConnection's useCaches flag.

Ths default is "sticky", being a part of the static state of all URLConnections. This flag applies to the next, and all following URLConnections that are created.
returnthe default value of a URLConnection's useCaches flag.
See also setDefaultUseCaches(boolean)

public void setDoInput(boolean doinput) Details
Sets the value of the doInput field for this URLConnection to the specified value.

A URL connection can be used for input and/or output. Set the DoInput flag to true if you intend to use the URL connection for input, false if not. The default is true.
doinputthe new value.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
See also doInput, getDoInput()

public boolean getDoInput() Details
Returns the value of this URLConnection's doInput flag.
returnthe value of this URLConnection's doInput flag.
See also setDoInput(boolean)
public void setDoOutput(boolean dooutput) Details
Sets the value of the doOutput field for this URLConnection to the specified value.

A URL connection can be used for input and/or output. Set the DoOutput flag to true if you intend to use the URL connection for output, false if not. The default is false.
dooutputthe new value.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
See also getDoOutput()

public boolean getDoOutput() Details
Returns the value of this URLConnection's doOutput flag.
returnthe value of this URLConnection's doOutput flag.
See also setDoOutput(boolean)
public long getExpiration() Details
Returns the value of the expires header field.
returnthe expiration date of the resource that this URL references, or 0 if not known. The value is the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 GMT.
See also getHeaderField(java.lang.String)
public static void setFileNameMap(FileNameMap map) Details
Sets the FileNameMap.

If there is a security manager, this method first calls the security manager's checkSetFactory method to ensure the operation is allowed. This could result in a SecurityException.
mapthe FileNameMap to be set
ThrowsSecurityException: if a security manager exists and its checkSetFactory method doesn't allow the operation.
since1.2
See also checkSetFactory, getFileNameMap()

public static FileNameMap getFileNameMap() Details
Loads filename map (a mimetable) from a data file. It will first try to load the user-specific table, defined by "content.types.user.table" property. If that fails, it tries to load the default built-in table at lib/content-types.properties under java home.
returnthe FileNameMap
since1.2
See also setFileNameMap(java.net.FileNameMap)
public String getHeaderField(String name) Details
Returns the value of the named header field.

If called on a connection that sets the same header multiple times with possibly different values, only the last value is returned.
namethe name of a header field.
returnthe value of the named header field, or null if there is no such field in the header.

public String getHeaderField(int n) Details
Returns the value for the nth header field. It returns null if there are fewer than n+1fields.

This method can be used in conjunction with the getHeaderFieldKey method to iterate through all the headers in the message.
nan index, where n>=0an index, where n>=0
returnthe value of the nth header field or null if there are fewer than n+1 fields
See also getHeaderFieldKey(int)

public long getHeaderFieldDate(String name, long Default) Details
Returns the value of the named field parsed as date. The result is the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 GMT represented by the named field.

This form of getHeaderField exists because some connection types (e.g., http-ng) have pre-parsed headers. Classes for that connection type can override this method and short-circuit the parsing.
namethe name of the header field.
Defaulta default value.
returnthe value of the field, parsed as a date. The value of the Default argument is returned if the field is missing or malformed.

public int getHeaderFieldInt(String name, int Default) Details
Returns the value of the named field parsed as a number.

This form of getHeaderField exists because some connection types (e.g., http-ng) have pre-parsed headers. Classes for that connection type can override this method and short-circuit the parsing.
namethe name of the header field.
Defaultthe default value.
returnthe value of the named field, parsed as an integer. The Default value is returned if the field is missing or malformed.

public String getHeaderFieldKey(int n) Details
Returns the key for the nth header field. It returns null if there are fewer than n+1 fields.
nan index, where n>=0an index, where n>=0
returnthe key for the nth header field, or null if there are fewer than n+1 fields.
public Map getHeaderFields() Details
Returns an unmodifiable Map of the header fields. The Map keys are Strings that represent the response-header field names. Each Map value is an unmodifiable List of Strings that represents the corresponding field values.
returna Map of header fields
since1.4
public void setIfModifiedSince(long ifmodifiedsince) Details
Sets the value of the ifModifiedSince field of this URLConnection to the specified value.
ifmodifiedsincethe new value.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
See also getIfModifiedSince()
public long getIfModifiedSince() Details
Returns the value of this object's ifModifiedSince field.
returnthe value of this object's ifModifiedSince field.
See also setIfModifiedSince(long)
public InputStream getInputStream() throws IOException Details
Returns an input stream that reads from this open connection. A SocketTimeoutException can be thrown when reading from the returned input stream if the read timeout expires before data is available for read.
returnan input stream that reads from this open connection.
ThrowsIOException: if an I/O error occurs while creating the input stream.
ThrowsUnknownServiceException: if the protocol does not support input.
See also setReadTimeout(int), getReadTimeout()
public long getLastModified() Details
Returns the value of the last-modified header field. The result is the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 GMT.
returnthe date the resource referenced by this URLConnection was last modified, or 0 if not known.
See also getHeaderField(java.lang.String)
public OutputStream getOutputStream() throws IOException Details
Returns an output stream that writes to this connection.
returnan output stream that writes to this connection.
ThrowsIOException: if an I/O error occurs while creating the output stream.
ThrowsUnknownServiceException: if the protocol does not support output.
public Permission getPermission() throws IOException Details
Returns a permission object representing the permission necessary to make the connection represented by this object. This method returns null if no permission is required to make the connection. By default, this method returns java.security.AllPermission. Subclasses should override this method and return the permission that best represents the permission required to make a a connection to the URL. For example, a URLConnection representing a file: URL would return a java.io.FilePermission object.

The permission returned may dependent upon the state of the connection. For example, the permission before connecting may be different from that after connecting. For example, an HTTP sever, say foo.com, may redirect the connection to a different host, say bar.com. Before connecting the permission returned by the connection will represent the permission needed to connect to foo.com, while the permission returned after connecting will be to bar.com.

Permissions are generally used for two purposes: to protect caches of objects obtained through URLConnections, and to check the right of a recipient to learn about a particular URL. In the first case, the permission should be obtained after the object has been obtained. For example, in an HTTP connection, this will represent the permission to connect to the host from which the data was ultimately fetched. In the second case, the permission should be obtained and tested before connecting.
returnthe permission object representing the permission necessary to make the connection represented by this URLConnection.
ThrowsIOException: if the computation of the permission requires network or file I/O and an exception occurs while computing it.

public void setReadTimeout(int timeout) Details
Sets the read timeout to a specified timeout, in milliseconds. A non-zero value specifies the timeout when reading from Input stream when a connection is established to a resource. If the timeout expires before there is data available for read, a java.net.SocketTimeoutException is raised. A timeout of zero is interpreted as an infinite timeout.

Some non-standard implementation of this method ignores the specified timeout. To see the read timeout set, please call getReadTimeout().
timeoutan int that specifies the timeout value to be used in milliseconds
ThrowsIllegalArgumentException: if the timeout parameter is negative
since1.5
See also getReadTimeout(), read()

public int getReadTimeout() Details
Returns setting for read timeout. 0 return implies that the option is disabled (i.e., timeout of infinity).
returnan int that indicates the read timeout value in milliseconds
since1.5
See also setReadTimeout(int), read()
public Map getRequestProperties() Details
Returns an unmodifiable Map of general request properties for this connection. The Map keys are Strings that represent the request-header field names. Each Map value is a unmodifiable List of Strings that represents the corresponding field values.
returna Map of the general request properties for this connection.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
since1.4
public void setRequestProperty(String key, String value) Details
Sets the general request property. If a property with the key already exists, overwrite its value with the new value.

NOTE: HTTP requires all request properties which can legally have multiple instances with the same key to use a comma-seperated list syntax which enables multiple properties to be appended into a single property.
keythe keyword by which the request is known (e.g., "accept").
valuethe value associated with it.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
ThrowsNullPointerException: if key is null
See also getRequestProperty(java.lang.String)

public String getRequestProperty(String key) Details
Returns the value of the named general request property for this connection.
keythe keyword by which the request is known (e.g., "accept").
returnthe value of the named general request property for this connection. If key is null, then null is returned.
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
See also setRequestProperty(java.lang.String, java.lang.String)
public URL getURL() Details
Returns the value of this URLConnection's URL field.
returnthe value of this URLConnection's URL field.
See also url
public void setUseCaches(boolean usecaches) Details
Sets the value of the useCaches field of this URLConnection to the specified value.

Some protocols do caching of documents. Occasionally, it is important to be able to "tunnel through" and ignore the caches (e.g., the "reload" button in a browser). If the UseCaches flag on a connection is true, the connection is allowed to use whatever caches it can. If false, caches are to be ignored. The default value comes from DefaultUseCaches, which defaults to true.
usecachesa boolean indicating whether or not to allow caching
ThrowsIllegalStateException: if already connected
See also getUseCaches()

public boolean getUseCaches() Details
Returns the value of this URLConnection's useCaches field.
returnthe value of this URLConnection's useCaches field.
See also setUseCaches(boolean)