Which Method in the URL Class Can Create an InputStream to Read From a File on a Web Server?

When working with the URL class in Java, there are several methods available to interact with web servers and retrieve data. One common task is reading from a file on a web server. In this tutorial, we will explore the method in the URL class that can be used to create an InputStream for reading from a file on a web server.

Create an InputStream to Read From a File on a Web Server

The method in the URL class that allows us to create an InputStream for reading from a file on a web server is openStream(). This method returns an InputStream object that can be used to read data from the specified URL.

Here’s how you can use the openStream() method:

• Create an instance of the URL class, passing the URL of the file on the web server as a parameter.
• Call the openStream() method on the URL object.
• This will return an InputStream object that you can use to read data from the file.

Example:

import java.io.InputStream;
import java.net.URL;

public class ReadFileFromWebServer {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            // Create a URL object
            URL url = new URL("http://www.example.com/file.txt");

            // Open an input stream
            InputStream inputStream = url.openStream();

            // Read data from the input stream
            int data = inputStream.read();
            while (data != -1) {
                System.out.print((char) data);
                data = inputStream.read();
            }

            // Close the input stream
            inputStream.close();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

In the above example, we create a URL object with the URL of the file we want to read from the web server. We then call the openStream() method to get an InputStream object. We can then use this InputStream to read the contents of the file.

Remember to handle exceptions when working with URLs and input streams, as they can throw IOExceptions.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned about the method in the URL class that can be used to create an InputStream for reading from a file on a web server. The openStream() method returns an InputStream object that allows us to read data from the specified URL. We also saw a code example demonstrating how to use this method in practice.

By utilizing this method, you can easily retrieve and read files from web servers using Java.