How do I get the absolute value of a number?

The example below show you how to get the absolute value of a number. To get the absolute value or the abs value of a number we use the Math.abs() method call. The Math.abs() method is an overloaded that can accept value in type of double, float, int or long.

package org.kodejava.math;

public class GetAbsoluteValueExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Double value = -10.0D;

        double abs1 = Math.abs(value);
        System.out.println("Absolute value in double: " + abs1);

        float abs2 = Math.abs(value.floatValue());
        System.out.println("Absolute value in float : " + abs2);

        int abs3 = Math.abs(value.intValue());
        System.out.println("Absolute value in int   : " + abs3);

        long abs4 = Math.abs(value.longValue());
        System.out.println("Absolute value in long  : " + abs4);
    }
}

The code snippet above print the following result:

Absolute value in double: 10.0
Absolute value in float : 10.0
Absolute value in int   : 10
Absolute value in long  : 10

How do I read data from a buffer into channel?

In this example you’ll see how to read data from buffer using FileChannel.write() method call. Reading from a buffer means that you are writing data into the channel object. In the snippet below the data from our dummy buffer will be read and written into the result.txt file.

package org.kodejava.io;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
import java.nio.channels.FileChannel;

public class BufferRead {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        FileChannel channel = null;

        try {
            // Define an output file and create an instance of FileOutputStream
            File file = new File("result.txt");
            FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream(file);

            // Create a dummy ByteBuffer which value to be read into a channel.
            ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(256);
            buffer.put(new byte[]{65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74});

            // Change the buffer from writing mode to reading mode.
            buffer.flip();

            // Gets the channel from the FileOutputStream object and read the
            // data available in buffer using channel.write() method.
            channel = fos.getChannel();
            int bytesWritten = channel.write(buffer);
            System.out.println("written : " + bytesWritten);
        } finally {
            if (channel != null && channel.isOpen()) {
                channel.close();
            }
        }
    }
}

How do I change the buffer mode between write and read?

A buffer can be read or written. To change the mode between the write mode and read mode we use the flip() method call on the buffer.

There are few things that you should know when you change between the write mode to the read mode. A buffer have the capacity, position and limit properties. The capacity will always be the same on write or read mode. But the position and limit will store different information in each mode.

In write mode the limit will be equals to the capacity, but in read mode the limit will be equals to the last position where the last data were written. The position on the write mode point where the data will be written in the buffer. When calling the flip() method the position will be set to 0 and the limit will be set to the last value of the position.

package org.kodejava.io;

import java.nio.CharBuffer;

public class BufferFlip {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        CharBuffer buffer = CharBuffer.allocate(1024);
        System.out.println("capacity = " + buffer.capacity());
        System.out.println("position = " + buffer.position());
        System.out.println("limit    = " + buffer.limit());

        buffer.put("Java NIO Programming");

        System.out.println("capacity = " + buffer.capacity());
        System.out.println("position = " + buffer.position());
        System.out.println("limit    = " + buffer.limit());

        buffer.flip();
        System.out.println("capacity = " + buffer.capacity());
        System.out.println("position = " + buffer.position());
        System.out.println("limit    = " + buffer.limit());
    }
}

The program will print the following result:

capacity = 1024
position = 0
limit    = 1024
capacity = 1024
position = 20
limit    = 1024
capacity = 1024
position = 0
limit    = 20

How do I write data into ByteBuffer using put method?

The snippet below show you how to write some bytes into the java.nio.ByteBuffer object through a call to the put() method.

package org.kodejava.io;

import java.nio.ByteBuffer;

public class BufferPut {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(32);
        buffer.put((byte) 65);
        buffer.put((byte) 66);
        buffer.put((byte) 67);
        buffer.put((byte) 68);
        buffer.put((byte) 69);


        // Writes a sequence of bytes
        byte[] bytes = new byte[]{70, 71, 72, 73, 74};
        buffer.put(bytes);

        // Write to the beginning of the buffer
        buffer.put(0, (byte) 75);

        buffer.flip();

        while (buffer.hasRemaining()) {
            System.out.print((char) buffer.get());
        }
    }
}

How do I use a FileChannel to read data into a Buffer?

The example below show how to use a FileChannel to read some data into a Buffer. We create a FileChannel from a FileInputStream instance. Because a channel reads data into buffer we need to create a ByteBuffer and set its capacity. Read data from a channel into buffer using the FileChannel.read() method.

To read out the data from the buffer we need to flip the buffer first using the Buffer.flip() method. The method will change the buffer from writing-mode into reading-mode. After the entire buffer is read clear the buffer using the clear() method call.

package org.kodejava.io;

import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
import java.nio.channels.FileChannel;

public class FileRead {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String path = "D:/Temp/source.txt";
        try (FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(path);
             FileChannel fileChannel = fis.getChannel()) {

            ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(64);

            int bytesRead = fileChannel.read(buffer);
            while (bytesRead != -1) {
                buffer.flip();

                while (buffer.hasRemaining()) {
                    System.out.print((char) buffer.get());
                }

                buffer.clear();
                bytesRead = fileChannel.read(buffer);
            }
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

How do I create a NIO Buffer?

This post show you how to use the java.nio buffer such as ByteBuffer, CharBuffer, DoubleBuffer, etc. To create a buffer you can use the allocate(int capacity) method. Each buffer object has the allocate(int capacity) method. You need to pass the value of the capacity of the buffer to be created when calling this method.

package org.kodejava.io;

import java.nio.*;

public class BufferAllocate {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        ByteBuffer byteBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(64);
        CharBuffer charBuffer = CharBuffer.allocate(64);
        ShortBuffer shortBuffer = ShortBuffer.allocate(64);
        IntBuffer intBuffer = IntBuffer.allocate(64);
        LongBuffer longBuffer = LongBuffer.allocate(64);
        FloatBuffer floatBuffer = FloatBuffer.allocate(64);
        DoubleBuffer doubleBuffer = DoubleBuffer.allocate(64);
    }
}

How do I copy file using FileChannel class?

The example below show you how to copy a file using the java.nio.channels.FileChannel class.

package org.kodejava.io;

import java.io.*;
import java.nio.channels.FileChannel;

public class FileCopy {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        //// Define the source and target file
        File source = new File("D:/Temp/source.txt");
        File target = new File("D:/Temp/target.txt");

        // Create the source and target channel
        try (FileChannel sourceChannel = new FileInputStream(source).getChannel();
             FileChannel targetChannel = new FileOutputStream(target).getChannel()) {

            // Copy data from the source channel into the target channel
            targetChannel.transferFrom(sourceChannel, 0, sourceChannel.size());
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

How do I create zip file in Servlet for download?

The example below is a servlet that shows you how to create a zip file and send the generated zip file for user to download. The compressing process is done by the zipFiles method of this class.

For a servlet to work you need to configure it in the web.xml file of your web application which can be found after the code snippet below.

package org.kodejava.servlet;

import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.ServletOutputStream;
import javax.servlet.annotation.WebServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.zip.ZipEntry;
import java.util.zip.ZipOutputStream;

@WebServlet(urlPatterns = "/zipservlet")
public class ZipDownloadServlet extends HttpServlet {
    public static final String FILE_SEPARATOR = System.getProperty("file.separator");

    protected void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
            throws ServletException, IOException {
        doGet(request, response);
    }

    protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
            throws ServletException, IOException {
        try {
            // The path below is the root directory of data to be
            // compressed.
            String path = getServletContext().getRealPath("data");

            File directory = new File(path);
            String[] files = directory.list();

            // Checks to see if the directory contains some files.
            if (files != null && files.length > 0) {

                // Call the zipFiles method for creating a zip stream.
                byte[] zip = zipFiles(directory, files);

                // Sends the response back to the user / browser. The
                // content for zip file type is "application/zip". We
                // also set the content disposition as attachment for
                // the browser to show a dialog that will let user 
                // choose what action will he do to the content.
                ServletOutputStream sos = response.getOutputStream();
                response.setContentType("application/zip");
                response.setHeader("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=\"DATA.ZIP\"");

                sos.write(zip);
                sos.flush();
            }
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    /**
     * Compress the given directory with all its files.
     */
    private byte[] zipFiles(File directory, String[] files) throws IOException {
        try (ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
             ZipOutputStream zos = new ZipOutputStream(baos)) {
            byte[] bytes = new byte[2048];

            for (String fileName : files) {
                String path = directory.getPath() +
                        ZipDownloadServlet.FILE_SEPARATOR + fileName;
                try (FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(path);
                     BufferedInputStream bis = new BufferedInputStream(fis)) {

                    zos.putNextEntry(new ZipEntry(fileName));

                    int bytesRead;
                    while ((bytesRead = bis.read(bytes)) != -1) {
                        zos.write(bytes, 0, bytesRead);
                    }
                    zos.closeEntry();
                }
            }

            zos.close();
            return baos.toByteArray();
        }
    }
}

Maven dependencies

<dependency>
    <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
    <artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
    <version>4.0.1</version>
</dependency>

Maven Central

How do I convert Map into JSON?

This example show you how to convert a java.util.Map into JSON string and back to Map again.

package org.kodejava.gson;

import com.google.gson.Gson;
import com.google.gson.reflect.TypeToken;

import java.lang.reflect.Type;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

public class MapToJson {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Map<String, String> colours = new HashMap<>();
        colours.put("BLACK", "#000000");
        colours.put("RED", "#FF0000");
        colours.put("GREEN", "#008000");
        colours.put("BLUE", "#0000FF");
        colours.put("YELLOW", "#FFFF00");
        colours.put("WHITE", "#FFFFFF");

        // Convert a Map into JSON string.
        Gson gson = new Gson();
        String json = gson.toJson(colours);
        System.out.println("json = " + json);

        // Convert JSON string back to Map.
        Type type = new TypeToken<Map<String, String>>() {
        }.getType();
        Map<String, String> map = gson.fromJson(json, type);
        for (String key : map.keySet()) {
            System.out.println("map.get = " + map.get(key));
        }
    }
}

Here is the result of the program:

json = {"RED":"#FF0000","WHITE":"#FFFFFF","BLUE":"#0000FF","BLACK":"#000000","YELLOW":"#FFFF00","GREEN":"#008000"}
map.get = #FF0000
map.get = #FFFFFF
map.get = #0000FF
map.get = #000000
map.get = #FFFF00
map.get = #008000

Maven Dependencies

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.google.code.gson</groupId>
    <artifactId>gson</artifactId>
    <version>2.11.0</version>
</dependency>

Maven Central

How do I convert collections into JSON?

This example show you how to convert Java collections object into JSON string. For Student class use in this example you can find it the previous example on How do I convert object into JSON?.

package org.kodejava.gson;

import com.google.gson.Gson;
import com.google.gson.reflect.TypeToken;
import org.kodejava.gson.support.Student;

import java.lang.reflect.Type;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.List;

public class CollectionToJson {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Converts a collection of string object into JSON string.
        List<String> names = new ArrayList<>();
        names.add("Alice");
        names.add("Bob");
        names.add("Carol");
        names.add("Mallory");

        Gson gson = new Gson();
        String jsonNames = gson.toJson(names);
        System.out.println("jsonNames = " + jsonNames);

        // Converts a collection Student object into JSON string
        Student a = new Student("Alice", "Apple St", getDOB(2000, 10, 1));
        Student b = new Student("Bob", "Banana St", null);
        Student c = new Student("Carol", "Grape St", getDOB(2000, 5, 21));
        Student d = new Student("Mallory", "Mango St", null);

        List<Student> students = new ArrayList<>();
        students.add(a);
        students.add(b);
        students.add(c);
        students.add(d);

        gson = new Gson();
        String jsonStudents = gson.toJson(students);
        System.out.println("jsonStudents = " + jsonStudents);

        // Converts JSON string into a collection of Student object.
        Type type = new TypeToken<List<Student>>() {
        }.getType();
        List<Student> studentList = gson.fromJson(jsonStudents, type);

        for (Student student : studentList) {
            System.out.println("student.getName() = " + student.getName());
        }
    }

    private static Date getDOB(int year, int month, int date) {
        Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
        calendar.set(Calendar.YEAR, year);
        calendar.set(Calendar.MONTH, month - 1);
        calendar.set(Calendar.DATE, date);
        calendar.set(Calendar.HOUR, 0);
        calendar.set(Calendar.MINUTE, 0);
        calendar.set(Calendar.SECOND, 0);
        return calendar.getTime();
    }
}

Here is the result of our program:

jsonNames = ["Alice","Bob","Carol","Mallory"]
jsonStudents = [{"name":"Alice","address":"Apple St","dateOfBirth":"Oct 1, 2000, 12:00:00 AM"},{"name":"Bob","address":"Banana St"},{"name":"Carol","address":"Grape St","dateOfBirth":"May 21, 2000, 12:00:00 AM"},{"name":"Mallory","address":"Mango St"}]
student.getName() = Alice
student.getName() = Bob
student.getName() = Carol
student.getName() = Mallory

Maven Dependencies

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.google.code.gson</groupId>
    <artifactId>gson</artifactId>
    <version>2.11.0</version>
</dependency>

Maven Central