A
PrintStream adds functionality to another output stream, namely the ability to print representations of various data values conveniently. Two other features are provided as well. Unlike other output streams, a
PrintStream never throws an
IOException; instead, exceptional situations merely set an internal flag that can be tested via the
checkError method. Optionally, a
PrintStream can be created so as to flush automatically; this means that the
flush method is automatically invoked after a byte array is written, one of the
println methods is invoked, or a newline character or byte (
'\n') is written.
All characters printed by a PrintStream are converted into bytes using the platform's default character encoding. The {@link PrintWriter} class should be used in situations that require writing characters rather than bytes.
@author Frank Yellin
@author Mark Reinhold
@since JDK1.0