Data streams support binary I/O of primitive data type values (boolean, char, byte, short, int, long, float, and double) as well as String values. All data streams implement either the DataInput interface or the DataOutput interface.

A data input stream lets an application read primitive Java data types from an underlying input stream in a machine-independent way. An application uses a data output stream to write data that can later be read by a data input stream.

Streams are lazy; computation on the source data is only performed when the terminal operation is initiated, and source elements are consumed only as needed. Collections and streams, while bearing some superficial similarities, have different goals.

Streams support many different kinds of data, including simple bytes, primitive data types, localized characters, and objects. Some streams simply pass on data; others manipulate and transform the data in useful ways.

A data output stream lets an application write primitive Java data types to an output stream in a portable way. An application can then use a data input stream to read the data back in.

This chapter describes how the Oracle Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) drivers handle Java streams for several data types. Data streams enable you to read LONG column data of up to 2 gigabytes (GB). This chapter covers the following topics: Overview of Java Streams. About Streaming LONG or LONG RAW Columns. About Streaming CHAR_ VARCHAR_ or ...

Unlike a collection, it is not a data structure that stores elements. Instead, a stream carries values from a source through a pipeline. This example creates a stream from the collection roster by invoking the method stream. The filter operation

Just as data streams support I/O of primitive data types, object streams support I/O of objects. Most, but not all, standard classes support serialization of their objects. Those that do implement the marker interface Serializable. The object stream classes are ObjectInputStream and ObjectOutputStream.

Reads up to len bytes of data from the input stream into an array of bytes. An attempt is made to read as many as len bytes, but a smaller number may be read. The number of bytes actually read is returned as an integer.

Stream gatherers enable you to create custom intermediate operations, which enables stream pipelines to transform data in ways that aren't easily achievable with exisiting built-in intermediate operations.