public abstract class URLConnection extends Object
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. | 
openConnection method on a URL.
 connect method.
 The setup parameters are modified using the following methods:
setAllowUserInteraction
   setDoInput
   setDoOutput
   setIfModifiedSince
   setUseCaches
 and the general request properties are modified using the method:
setRequestProperty
 
 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:
getContent
   getHeaderField
   getInputStream
   getOutputStream
 Certain header fields are accessed frequently. The methods:
getContentEncoding
   getContentLength
   getContentType
   getDate
   getExpiration
   getLastModifed
 
 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:
 
Invoking thehttp://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2616.txt
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.URL.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)| Modifier and Type | Field and Description | 
|---|---|
| protected boolean | allowUserInteractionIf  true, thisURLis being examined in
 a context in which it makes sense to allow user interactions such
 as popping up an authentication dialog. | 
| protected boolean | connectedIf  false, this connection object has not created a
 communications link to the specified URL. | 
| protected boolean | doInputThis variable is set by the  setDoInputmethod. | 
| protected boolean | doOutputThis variable is set by the  setDoOutputmethod. | 
| protected long | ifModifiedSinceSome protocols support skipping the fetching of the object unless
 the object has been modified more recently than a certain time. | 
| protected URL | urlThe URL represents the remote object on the World Wide Web to
 which this connection is opened. | 
| protected boolean | useCachesIf  true, the protocol is allowed to use caching
 whenever it can. | 
| Modifier | Constructor and Description | 
|---|---|
| protected  | URLConnection(URL url)Constructs a URL connection to the specified URL. | 
| Modifier and Type | Method and Description | 
|---|---|
| void | addRequestProperty(String key,
                  String value)Adds a general request property specified by a
 key-value pair. | 
| abstract void | connect()Opens a communications link to the resource referenced by this
 URL, if such a connection has not already been established. | 
| boolean | getAllowUserInteraction()Returns the value of the  allowUserInteractionfield for
 this object. | 
| int | getConnectTimeout()Returns setting for connect timeout. | 
| Object | getContent()Retrieves the contents of this URL connection. | 
| Object | getContent(Class[] classes)Retrieves the contents of this URL connection. | 
| String | getContentEncoding()Returns the value of the  content-encodingheader field. | 
| int | getContentLength()Returns the value of the  content-lengthheader field. | 
| long | getContentLengthLong()Returns the value of the  content-lengthheader field as a
 long. | 
| String | getContentType()Returns the value of the  content-typeheader field. | 
| long | getDate()Returns the value of the  dateheader field. | 
| static boolean | getDefaultAllowUserInteraction()Returns the default value of the  allowUserInteractionfield. | 
| static String | getDefaultRequestProperty(String key)Deprecated. 
 The instance specific getRequestProperty method
 should be used after an appropriate instance of URLConnection
 is obtained. | 
| boolean | getDefaultUseCaches()Returns the default value of a  URLConnection'suseCachesflag. | 
| boolean | getDoInput()Returns the value of this  URLConnection'sdoInputflag. | 
| boolean | getDoOutput()Returns the value of this  URLConnection'sdoOutputflag. | 
| long | getExpiration()Returns the value of the  expiresheader field. | 
| static FileNameMap | getFileNameMap()Loads filename map (a mimetable) from a data file. | 
| String | getHeaderField(int n)Returns the value for the  nth header field. | 
| String | getHeaderField(String name)Returns the value of the named header field. | 
| long | getHeaderFieldDate(String name,
                  long Default)Returns the value of the named field parsed as date. | 
| int | getHeaderFieldInt(String name,
                 int Default)Returns the value of the named field parsed as a number. | 
| String | getHeaderFieldKey(int n)Returns the key for the  nth header field. | 
| long | getHeaderFieldLong(String name,
                  long Default)Returns the value of the named field parsed as a number. | 
| Map<String,List<String>> | getHeaderFields()Returns an unmodifiable Map of the header fields. | 
| long | getIfModifiedSince()Returns the value of this object's  ifModifiedSincefield. | 
| InputStream | getInputStream()Returns an input stream that reads from this open connection. | 
| long | getLastModified()Returns the value of the  last-modifiedheader field. | 
| OutputStream | getOutputStream()Returns an output stream that writes to this connection. | 
| Permission | getPermission()Returns a permission object representing the permission
 necessary to make the connection represented by this
 object. | 
| int | getReadTimeout()Returns setting for read timeout. | 
| Map<String,List<String>> | getRequestProperties()Returns an unmodifiable Map of general request
 properties for this connection. | 
| String | getRequestProperty(String key)Returns the value of the named general request property for this
 connection. | 
| URL | getURL()Returns the value of this  URLConnection'sURLfield. | 
| boolean | getUseCaches()Returns the value of this  URLConnection'suseCachesfield. | 
| static String | guessContentTypeFromName(String fname)Tries to determine the content type of an object, based
 on the specified "file" component of a URL. | 
| static String | guessContentTypeFromStream(InputStream is)Tries to determine the type of an input stream based on the
 characters at the beginning of the input stream. | 
| void | setAllowUserInteraction(boolean allowuserinteraction)Set the value of the  allowUserInteractionfield of
 thisURLConnection. | 
| void | setConnectTimeout(int timeout)Sets a specified timeout value, in milliseconds, to be used
 when opening a communications link to the resource referenced
 by this URLConnection. | 
| static void | setContentHandlerFactory(ContentHandlerFactory fac)Sets the  ContentHandlerFactoryof an
 application. | 
| static void | setDefaultAllowUserInteraction(boolean defaultallowuserinteraction)Sets the default value of the
  allowUserInteractionfield for all futureURLConnectionobjects to the specified value. | 
| static void | setDefaultRequestProperty(String key,
                         String value)Deprecated. 
 The instance specific setRequestProperty method
 should be used after an appropriate instance of URLConnection
 is obtained. Invoking this method will have no effect. | 
| void | setDefaultUseCaches(boolean defaultusecaches)Sets the default value of the  useCachesfield to the
 specified value. | 
| void | setDoInput(boolean doinput)Sets the value of the  doInputfield for thisURLConnectionto the specified value. | 
| void | setDoOutput(boolean dooutput)Sets the value of the  doOutputfield for thisURLConnectionto the specified value. | 
| static void | setFileNameMap(FileNameMap map)Sets the FileNameMap. | 
| void | setIfModifiedSince(long ifmodifiedsince)Sets the value of the  ifModifiedSincefield of
 thisURLConnectionto the specified value. | 
| void | setReadTimeout(int timeout)Sets the read timeout to a specified timeout, in
 milliseconds. | 
| void | setRequestProperty(String key,
                  String value)Sets the general request property. | 
| void | setUseCaches(boolean usecaches)Sets the value of the  useCachesfield of thisURLConnectionto the specified value. | 
| String | toString()Returns a  Stringrepresentation of this URL connection. | 
protected URL url
 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.
protected boolean doInput
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.
getDoInput(), 
setDoInput(boolean)protected boolean doOutput
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.
getDoOutput(), 
setDoOutput(boolean)protected boolean allowUserInteraction
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.
protected boolean useCaches
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.
protected long ifModifiedSince
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.
getIfModifiedSince(), 
setIfModifiedSince(long)protected boolean connected
false, this connection object has not created a
 communications link to the specified URL. If true,
 the communications link has been established.protected URLConnection(URL url)
url - the specified URL.public static FileNameMap getFileNameMap()
setFileNameMap(java.net.FileNameMap)public static void setFileNameMap(FileNameMap map)
 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.
map - the FileNameMap to be setSecurityException - if a security manager exists and its
             checkSetFactory method doesn't allow the operation.SecurityManager.checkSetFactory(), 
getFileNameMap()public abstract void connect()
                      throws IOException
 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.
SocketTimeoutException - if the timeout expires before
               the connection can be establishedIOException - if an I/O error occurs while opening the
               connection.connected, 
getConnectTimeout(), 
setConnectTimeout(int)public void setConnectTimeout(int timeout)
Some non-standard implementation of this method may ignore the specified timeout. To see the connect timeout set, please call getConnectTimeout().
timeout - an int that specifies the connect
               timeout value in millisecondsIllegalArgumentException - if the timeout parameter is negativegetConnectTimeout(), 
connect()public int getConnectTimeout()
0 return implies that the option is disabled (i.e., timeout of infinity).
int that indicates the connect timeout
         value in millisecondssetConnectTimeout(int), 
connect()public void setReadTimeout(int timeout)
Some non-standard implementation of this method ignores the specified timeout. To see the read timeout set, please call getReadTimeout().
timeout - an int that specifies the timeout
 value to be used in millisecondsIllegalArgumentException - if the timeout parameter is negativegetReadTimeout(), 
InputStream.read()public int getReadTimeout()
int that indicates the read timeout
         value in millisecondssetReadTimeout(int), 
InputStream.read()public URL getURL()
URLConnection's URL
 field.URLConnection's URL
          field.urlpublic int getContentLength()
content-length header field.
 
 Note: getContentLengthLong()
 should be preferred over this method, since it returns a long
 instead and is therefore more portable.
-1 if the content length is not known,
          or if the content length is greater than Integer.MAX_VALUE.public long getContentLengthLong()
content-length header field as a
 long.-1 if the content length is
          not known.public String getContentType()
content-type header field.null if not known.getHeaderField(java.lang.String)public String getContentEncoding()
content-encoding header field.null if not known.getHeaderField(java.lang.String)public long getExpiration()
expires header field.getHeaderField(java.lang.String)public long getDate()
date header field.0 if not known. The value returned is the
          number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 GMT.getHeaderField(java.lang.String)public long getLastModified()
last-modified header field.
 The result is the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 GMT.URLConnection was last modified, or 0 if not known.getHeaderField(java.lang.String)public String getHeaderField(String name)
If called on a connection that sets the same header multiple times with possibly different values, only the last value is returned.
name - the name of a header field.null
          if there is no such field in the header.public Map<String,List<String>> getHeaderFields()
public int getHeaderFieldInt(String name, int Default)
 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.
name - the name of the header field.Default - the default value.Default value is returned if the field is
          missing or malformed.public long getHeaderFieldLong(String name, long Default)
 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.
name - the name of the header field.Default - the default value.Default value is returned if the field is
          missing or malformed.public long getHeaderFieldDate(String name, long Default)
 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.
name - the name of the header field.Default - a default value.Default argument is returned if the field is
          missing or malformed.public String getHeaderFieldKey(int n)
nth header field.
 It returns null if there are fewer than n+1 fields.n - an index, where n>=0nth header field,
          or null if there are fewer than n+1
          fields.public String getHeaderField(int n)
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.
n - an index, where n>=0nth header field
          or null if there are fewer than n+1 fieldsgetHeaderFieldKey(int)public Object getContent() throws IOException
 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:
 
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.
 createContentHandler method returns
     null, then the application loads the class named:
     
         sun.net.www.content.<contentType>
     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.
 instanceof operator
               should be used to determine the specific kind of object
               returned.IOException - if an I/O error occurs while
               getting the content.UnknownServiceException - if the protocol does not support
               the content type.ContentHandlerFactory.createContentHandler(java.lang.String), 
getContentType(), 
setContentHandlerFactory(java.net.ContentHandlerFactory)public Object getContent(Class[] classes) throws IOException
classes - the Class array
 indicating the requested typesinstanceof operator should be used to
               determine the specific kind of object returned.IOException - if an I/O error occurs while
               getting the content.UnknownServiceException - if the protocol does not support
               the content type.getContent(), 
ContentHandlerFactory.createContentHandler(java.lang.String), 
getContent(java.lang.Class[]), 
setContentHandlerFactory(java.net.ContentHandlerFactory)public Permission getPermission() throws IOException
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.
IOException - if the computation of the permission
 requires network or file I/O and an exception occurs while
 computing it.public InputStream getInputStream() throws IOException
IOException - if an I/O error occurs while
               creating the input stream.UnknownServiceException - if the protocol does not support
               input.setReadTimeout(int), 
getReadTimeout()public OutputStream getOutputStream() throws IOException
IOException - if an I/O error occurs while
               creating the output stream.UnknownServiceException - if the protocol does not support
               output.public String toString()
String representation of this URL connection.public void setDoInput(boolean doinput)
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.
doinput - the new value.IllegalStateException - if already connecteddoInput, 
getDoInput()public boolean getDoInput()
URLConnection's
 doInput flag.URLConnection's
          doInput flag.setDoInput(boolean)public void setDoOutput(boolean dooutput)
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.
dooutput - the new value.IllegalStateException - if already connectedgetDoOutput()public boolean getDoOutput()
URLConnection's
 doOutput flag.URLConnection's
          doOutput flag.setDoOutput(boolean)public void setAllowUserInteraction(boolean allowuserinteraction)
allowUserInteraction field of
 this URLConnection.allowuserinteraction - the new value.IllegalStateException - if already connectedgetAllowUserInteraction()public boolean getAllowUserInteraction()
allowUserInteraction field for
 this object.allowUserInteraction field for
          this object.setAllowUserInteraction(boolean)public static void setDefaultAllowUserInteraction(boolean defaultallowuserinteraction)
allowUserInteraction field for all future
 URLConnection objects to the specified value.defaultallowuserinteraction - the new value.getDefaultAllowUserInteraction()public static boolean getDefaultAllowUserInteraction()
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.
allowUserInteraction
          field.setDefaultAllowUserInteraction(boolean)public void setUseCaches(boolean usecaches)
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.
usecaches - a boolean indicating whether
 or not to allow cachingIllegalStateException - if already connectedgetUseCaches()public boolean getUseCaches()
URLConnection's
 useCaches field.URLConnection's
          useCaches field.setUseCaches(boolean)public void setIfModifiedSince(long ifmodifiedsince)
ifModifiedSince field of
 this URLConnection to the specified value.ifmodifiedsince - the new value.IllegalStateException - if already connectedgetIfModifiedSince()public long getIfModifiedSince()
ifModifiedSince field.ifModifiedSince field.setIfModifiedSince(long)public boolean getDefaultUseCaches()
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.
URLConnection's
          useCaches flag.setDefaultUseCaches(boolean)public void setDefaultUseCaches(boolean defaultusecaches)
useCaches field to the
 specified value.defaultusecaches - the new value.getDefaultUseCaches()public void setRequestProperty(String key, String value)
NOTE: HTTP requires all request properties which can legally have multiple instances with the same key to use a comma-separated list syntax which enables multiple properties to be appended into a single property.
key - the keyword by which the request is known
                  (e.g., "Accept").value - the value associated with it.IllegalStateException - if already connectedNullPointerException - if key is nullgetRequestProperty(java.lang.String)public void addRequestProperty(String key, String value)
key - the keyword by which the request is known
                  (e.g., "Accept").value - the value associated with it.IllegalStateException - if already connectedNullPointerException - if key is nullgetRequestProperties()public String getRequestProperty(String key)
key - the keyword by which the request is known (e.g., "Accept").IllegalStateException - if already connectedsetRequestProperty(java.lang.String, java.lang.String)public Map<String,List<String>> getRequestProperties()
IllegalStateException - if already connected@Deprecated public static void setDefaultRequestProperty(String key, String value)
URLConnection is created, it is initialized with
 these properties.key - the keyword by which the request is known
                  (e.g., "Accept").value - the value associated with the key.setRequestProperty(java.lang.String,java.lang.String), 
getDefaultRequestProperty(java.lang.String)@Deprecated public static String getDefaultRequestProperty(String key)
key - the keyword by which the request is known (e.g., "Accept").getRequestProperty(java.lang.String), 
setDefaultRequestProperty(java.lang.String, java.lang.String)public static void setContentHandlerFactory(ContentHandlerFactory fac)
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.
fac - the desired factory.Error - if the factory has already been defined.SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its
             checkSetFactory method doesn't allow the operation.ContentHandlerFactory, 
getContent(), 
SecurityManager.checkSetFactory()public static String guessContentTypeFromName(String fname)
getContentType method.fname - a filename.getContentType()public static String guessContentTypeFromStream(InputStream is) throws IOException
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.
is - an input stream that supports marks.null if none
             can be determined.IOException - if an I/O error occurs while reading the
               input stream.InputStream.mark(int), 
InputStream.markSupported(), 
getContentType() Submit a bug or feature 
For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java SE Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.
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