Class java.util.CharacterDecoder
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Class java.util.CharacterDecoder

java.lang.Object
   |
   +----java.util.CharacterDecoder

public class CharacterDecoder
extends Object
This class defines the decoding half of character encoders. A character decoder is an algorithim for transforming 8 bit binary data that has been encoded into text by a character encoder, back into original binary form. The character encoders, in general, have been structured around a central theme that binary data can be encoded into text that has the form:
	[Buffer Prefix]
	[Line Prefix][encoded data atoms][Line Suffix]
	[Buffer Suffix]
Of course in the simplest encoding schemes, the buffer has no distinct prefix of suffix, however all have some fixed relationship between the text in an 'atom' and the binary data itself. In the CharacterEncoder and CharacterDecoder classes, one complete chunk of data is referred to as a buffer. Encoded buffers are all text, and decoded buffers (sometimes just referred to as buffers) are binary octets. To create a custom decoder, you must, at a minimum, overide three abstract methods in this class.
bytesPerAtom which tells the decoder how many bytes to expect from decodeAtom
decodeAtom which decodes the bytes sent to it as text.
bytesPerLine which tells the encoder the maximum number of bytes per line.
In general, the character decoders return error in the form of a CEFormatException. The syntax of the detail string is
	DecoderClassName: Error message.
Several useful decoders have already been written and are referenced in the See Also list below.
Version:
29 Mar 1995, 1.2
Author:
Chuck McManis
See Also:
CEFormatException, CharacterEncoder, UCDecoder, UUDecoder, BASE64Decoder

CharacterDecoder()

decodeBuffer(InputStream, OutputStream)
Decode the text from the InputStream and write the decoded octets to the OutputStream.
decodeBuffer(String)
Alternate decode interface that takes a String containing the encoded buffer and returns a byte array containing the data.
decodeBuffer(InputStream)
Decode the contents of the inputstream into a buffer.

CharacterDecoder
  public CharacterDecoder()

decodeBuffer
  public void decodeBuffer(InputStream aStream,
                           OutputStream bStream)
Decode the text from the InputStream and write the decoded octets to the OutputStream. This method runs until the stream is exhausted.
Throws: CEFormatException
An error has occured while decoding
Throws: CEStreamExhausted
The input stream is unexpectedly out of data

decodeBuffer

  public byte decodeBuffer(String inputString)
Alternate decode interface that takes a String containing the encoded buffer and returns a byte array containing the data.
Throws: CEFormatException
An error has occured while decoding

decodeBuffer

  public byte decodeBuffer(InputStream in)
Decode the contents of the inputstream into a buffer.


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