transferring bytes from one ByteBuffer to another

Question

What's the most efficient way to put as many bytes as possible from a ByteBuffer bbuf_src into another ByteBuffer bbuf_dest (as well as know how many bytes were transferred)? I'm trying bbuf_dest.put(bbuf_src) but it seems to want to throw a BufferOverflowException and I can't get the javadocs from Sun right now (network problems) when I need them. >:( argh.

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edit: darnit, @Richard's approach (use put() from the backing array of bbuf_src) won't work if bbuf_src is a ReadOnly buffer, as you can't get access to that array. What can I do in that case???

Answer 1

OK, I've adapted @Richard's answer:

public static int transferAsMuchAsPossible(
                     ByteBuffer bbuf_dest, ByteBuffer bbuf_src)
{
  int nTransfer = Math.min(bbuf_dest.remaining(), bbuf_src.remaining());
  if (nTransfer > 0)
  {
    bbuf_dest.put(bbuf_src.array(), 
                  bbuf_src.arrayOffset()+bbuf_src.position(), 
                  nTransfer);
    bbuf_src.position(bbuf_src.position()+nTransfer);
  }
  return nTransfer;
}

and a test to make sure it works:

public static boolean transferTest()
{
    ByteBuffer bb1 = ByteBuffer.allocate(256);
    ByteBuffer bb2 = ByteBuffer.allocate(50);
    for (int i = 0; i < 100; ++i)
    {
        bb1.put((byte)i);
    }
    bb1.flip();
    bb1.position(5);
    ByteBuffer bb1a = bb1.slice();
    bb1a.position(2);
    // bb3 includes the 5-100 range
    bb2.put((byte)77);
    // something to see this works when bb2 isn't empty
    int n = transferAsMuchAsPossible(bb2, bb1a);
    boolean itWorked = (n == 49);

    if (bb1a.position() != 51)
        itWorked = false;
    if (bb2.position() != 50)
        itWorked = false;
    bb2.rewind();
    if (bb2.get() != 77)
        itWorked = false;
    for (int i = 0; i < 49; ++i)
    {
        if (bb2.get() != i+7)
        {
            itWorked = false;
            break;
        }
    }
    return itWorked;
}

Answer 2

As you've discovered, getting the backing array doesn't always work (it fails for read only buffers, direct buffers, and memory mapped file buffers). The better alternative is to duplicate your source buffer and set a new limit for the amount of data you want to transfer:

int maxTransfer = Math.min(bbuf_dest.remaining(), bbuf_src.remaining());
// use a duplicated buffer so we don't disrupt the limit of the original buffer
ByteBuffer bbuf_tmp = bbuf_src.duplicate ();
bbuf_tmp.limit (bbuf_tmp.position() + maxTransfer);
bbuf_dest.put (bbuf_tmp);

// now discard the data we've copied from the original source (optional)
bbuf_src.position(bbuf_src.position() + maxTransfer);

Answer 3

You get the BufferOverflowException because your bbuf_dest is not big enough.

You will need to use bbuf_dest.remaining() to find out the maximum number of bytes you can transfer from bbuf_src:

int maxTransfer = Math.min(bbuf_dest.remaining(), bbuf_src.remaining());
bbuf_dest.put(bbuf_src.array(), 0, maxTransfer);