Java I/O, NIO and NIO.2

Chapter    7

Channels

Channels partner with buffers to achieve high-performance I/O. This chapter introduces you to NIO’s channel types.

Introducing Channels

A channel is an object that represents an open connection to a hardware device, a file, a network socket, an application component, or another entity that’s capable of performing writes, reads, and other I/O operations. Channels efficiently transfer data between byte buffers and operating system-based I/O service sources or destinations.

Note  Channels are gateways through which I/O services are accessed. Channels use byte buffers as the endpoints for sending and receiving data.

There often exists a one-to-one correspondence between an operating system file handle or file descriptor and ...