XDRDataInput.java

package edu.ucla.nesl.mca.xdr;

import java.io.Closeable;
import java.io.DataInput;
import java.io.IOException;

/**
 * An interface implemented by input streams that support XDR.
 * 
 * The XDR format is almost identical to the normal Java DataInput format,
 * except that items are padded to 4 byte boundaries, and strings are normally
 * stored in ASCII format.
 * 
 * @author Tony Johnson (tonyj@slac.stanford.edu)
 * @version $Id: XDRDataInput.java 13659 2009-10-09 23:23:47Z tonyj $
 */
public interface XDRDataInput extends DataInput, Closeable {
    /**
     * Skips appropriate amount to bring stream to 4-byte boundary.
     */
    void pad() throws IOException;

    /**
     * Reads a double array. Assumes int length proceeds array. Throws an
     * exception if array length > 32767 to protect against bad data exhausting
     * memory. If buffer is not null, and is large enough to hold array, it is
     * filled and returned, otherwise a new array is allocated and returned.
     */
    double[] readDoubleArray(double[] buffer) throws IOException;

    /**
     * Reads a float array. Assumes int length proceeds array. Throws an
     * exception if array length > 32767 to protect against bad data exhausting
     * memory. If buffer is not null, and is large enough to hold array, it is
     * filled and returned, otherwise a new array is allocated and returned.
     */
    float[] readFloatArray(float[] buffer) throws IOException;

    /**
     * Reads an integer array. Assumes int length proceeds array. Throws an
     * exception if array length > 32767 to protect against bad data exhausting
     * memory. If buffer is not null, and is large enough to hold array, it is
     * filled and returned, otherwise a new array is allocated and returned.
     */
    int[] readIntArray(int[] buffer) throws IOException;

    /**
     * Read a String. Assumes int length proceeds String. Throws an exception if
     * string length > 32767 to protect against bad data exhausting memory.
     */
    String readString() throws IOException;

    /**
     * Reads a String of length l bytes, and skips appropriate amount to bring
     * stream to 4-byte boundary.
     */
    String readString(int l) throws IOException;
}