/*
* Copyright (c) 2000, 2003, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
* ORACLE PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
*
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package java.nio.channels;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.Closeable;
/**
* A nexus for I/O operations.
*
* <p> A channel represents an open connection to an entity such as a hardware
* device, a file, a network socket, or a program component that is capable of
* performing one or more distinct I/O operations, for example reading or
* writing.
*
* <p> A channel is either open or closed. A channel is open upon creation,
* and once closed it remains closed. Once a channel is closed, any attempt to
* invoke an I/O operation upon it will cause a {@link ClosedChannelException}
* to be thrown. Whether or not a channel is open may be tested by invoking
* its {@link #isOpen isOpen} method.
*
* <p> Channels are, in general, intended to be safe for multithreaded access
* as described in the specifications of the interfaces and classes that extend
* and implement this interface.
*
*
* @author Mark Reinhold
* @author JSR-51 Expert Group
* @since 1.4
*/
public interface Channel extends Closeable {
/**
* Tells whether or not this channel is open. </p>
*
* @return <tt>true</tt> if, and only if, this channel is open
*/
public boolean isOpen();
/**
* Closes this channel.
*
* <p> After a channel is closed, any further attempt to invoke I/O
* operations upon it will cause a {@link ClosedChannelException} to be
* thrown.
*
* <p> If this channel is already closed then invoking this method has no
* effect.
*
* <p> This method may be invoked at any time. If some other thread has
* already invoked it, however, then another invocation will block until
* the first invocation is complete, after which it will return without
* effect. </p>
*
* @throws IOException If an I/O error occurs
*/
public void close() throws IOException;
}