BinData Chilkat2 Java Reference Documentation
BinData
Current Version: 11.7.0
Markdown version of this page for AI tools (v 11.7.0) · all AI docs
Chilkat.BinData
Load data from files, byte arrays, strings, encoded strings, or other
Chilkat objects that produce binary output.
Append bytes, strings, integers, BOMs, counted strings, padded fields,
encoded data, and other
Convert binary data to and from text encodings such as Base64, hex, URL
encoding, and other supported binary encodings.
Interpret bytes as text, append strings using a specified charset,
convert character encodings, and validate UTF-8 content.
Get byte counts, extract chunks, remove ranges, compare data, and work
with specific portions of a binary buffer.
Compute hashes for the contained data and write the resulting bytes to
files or pass them to other Chilkat classes.
For an extended overview, see
BinData Class Overview.
Build, transform, encode, decode, inspect, and save binary data.
Chilkat.BinData is a general-purpose mutable byte container used
throughout Chilkat for working with binary content in memory. It can load
bytes from files, byte arrays, strings, and encoded text; append additional
data in many forms; retrieve content as raw bytes, chunks, text, or encoded
strings; compute hashes; convert character encodings; validate UTF-8; remove
byte ranges; and write the final result to files.
Load binary content
Append and build data
BinData objects.
Encode and decode
Text and charset handling
Inspect and modify bytes
Hash and save output
BinData whenever a
Chilkat method needs a mutable in-memory binary buffer.
Object Creation
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatException;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.BinData;
try (BinData bd = new BinData()) {
// ... use bd ...
} catch (ChilkatException e) {
System.out.println(e.getMessage()); // "BinData.someMethod failed: <reason>"
System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText()); // the full log of the failed call
}Creates the underlying native Chilkat object. The native library (chilkat2java) is loaded the first time any Chilkat2 object is created; see the README in the download for where it is looked for (-Dchilkat2.library.path, a classpath resource, or java.library.path).
Releases the native object (BinData is AutoCloseable, so try-with-resources calls it). Calling it again does nothing; any other method or property accessor called afterwards throws IllegalStateException. An object that is never closed is freed by a background cleaner once it becomes unreachable, but the garbage collector does not see native memory, so closing is the normal path. Objects returned by methods are owned by the caller too.
Returns true once close() has been called.
Errors
A method that fails throws ChilkatException, an unchecked exception carrying getClassName(), getMethodName(), getReason() (one line, also in the message) and getLastErrorText() (the full log, captured at the moment of the failure). The object remains usable. Methods that look something up and find nothing return null instead of throwing (each such method says so), and methods that answer a question (hasMember, isUnlocked, ...) return a plain boolean. Property accessors do not throw for Chilkat reasons.
A null string or object argument throws NullPointerException naming the parameter (except where a method documents that null is accepted), and a string containing U+0000 throws IllegalArgumentException.
Use an object from one thread at a time; it may be handed from one thread to another. The one cross-thread operation is setting setAbortCurrent(true) on an object that is busy in another thread (on the classes that have AbortCurrent). Unlocking: call new Global().unlockBundle("...") once at startup.
Properties
DebugLogFilePath
String getDebugLogFilePath()
void setDebugLogFilePath(String value)
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
LastErrorHtml
String getLastErrorHtml()
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
String getLastErrorText()
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
String getLastErrorXml()
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
boolean getLastMethodSuccess()
void setLastMethodSuccess(boolean value)
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: true means success, false means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.
NumBytes
int getNumBytes()
The number of bytes contained within the object.
topVerboseLogging
boolean getVerboseLogging()
void setVerboseLogging(boolean value)
If set to true, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is false. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
String getVersion()
Methods
AppendBd
Appends the contents of another BinData to this object.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendBom
Appends the appropriate BOM (byte order mark), also known as a preamble, for the given charset. If the charset has no defined BOM, then nothing is appended. An application would typically call this to append the utf-8, utf-16, or utf-32 BOM.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendByte
Appends a single byte. The byteValue should be a value from 0 to 255.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendCountedString
Appends a byte count followed by the string in the desired character encoding, such as utf-8. The numCountBytes is the size in bytes of the integer to represent the byte count. If 0, then a minimal number of bytes is used. If bigEndian is true, the byte count is appended in big endian byte ordering, otherwise little-ending byte ordering. The str is the string to be appended. The charset is the character encoding, such as utf-8, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendData
Appends binary data to the current contents.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendEncoded
Appends encoded binary data to the current data. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendEncodedSb
Decodes the contents of sb and appends the decoded bytes to this object. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendInt2
Appends a 16-bit integer (2 bytes). If littleEndian is true, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendInt4
Appends a 32-bit integer (4 bytes). If littleEndian is true, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendPadded
Appends a string to this object, padded to the fieldLen with NULL or SPACE chars. If padWithSpace is true, then SPACE chars are used and the string is not null-terminated. If fieldLen is false, then null bytes are used. The charset controls the byte representation to use, such as utf-8.
Note: This call will always append a total number of bytes equal to fieldLen. If the str is longer than fieldLen, the method returns false to indicate failure and nothing is appended.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendSb
Appends the contents of a StringBuilder to this object.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
AppendString
Appends a string to this object. (This does not append the BOM. If a BOM is required, the AppendBom method can be called to append the appropriate BOM.)
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
ByteSwap
Does either 16-bit or 32-bit byte swapping of the entire contents. If size equals 16, then swaps in 2 bytes (e.g., 0x1234 → 0x3412). If size equals 32, then swaps 4 bytes (e.g., 0x12345678 → 0x78563412)
CharsetConvert
This method converts the character encoding of an object's contents from one format to another, such as from Windows-1252 to UTF-8. The allOrNone parameter determines error handling for unrepresentable bytes. If allOrNone is true, the object's contents remain unchanged when errors occur. If false, error bytes are discarded. The method returns true if successful and false if errors occur.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
Clear
Clears the contents.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
ContentsEqual
Return true if the contents of this object equals the contents of binData.
Never throws: false is an answer, not a failure.
FindString
Return the index where the first occurrence of str is found. Return -1 if not found. The startIdx indicates the byte index where the search begins. The charset specifies the byte representation of str that is to be searched. For example, it can be utf-8, windows-1252, ansi, utf-16, etc.
GetByte
Returns the value of the byte at the given index. The returned value is an integer from 0 to 255.
GetData
Retrieves the binary data contained within the object.
Returns a new byte[] (empty if there is no data).
GetDataChunk
Retrieves a chunk of the binary data contained within the object.
Returns a new byte[] (empty if there is no data).
GetEncoded
Retrieves the binary data as an encoded string. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
GetEncodedChunk
Retrieves a chunk of the binary data and returns it in encoded form. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
GetEncodedSb
Writes the encoded data to a StringBuilder. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
GetHash
Returns the hash of the contents of this object. The algorithm is the hash algorithm, and can be sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512, sha3-224, sha3-256, sha3-384, sha3-512, md2, md5, ripemd128, ripemd160,ripemd256, or ripemd320.
The encoding can be base64, modBase64, base64Url, base32, base58, qp (for quoted-printable), url (for url-encoding), hex, hexLower, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
GetInt2
Returns the value of the 16-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetInt4
Returns the value of the 32-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetString
Interprets the bytes according to charset and returns the string. The charset can be utf-8, utf-16, ansi, iso-8859-*, windows-125*, or any of the supported character encodings listed in the link below.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
GetTextChunk
Returns numBytes bytes starting at startIdx. The bytes are interpreted according to charset (for example, utf-8, ansi, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.)
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
GetUInt2
Returns the value of the 16-bit unsigned integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetUInt4
Returns the value of the 32-bit unsigned integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topIsValidUtf8
Returns true if this object contains valid utf-8 byte sequences. Any invalid byte sequence that is not valid utf-8 will cause this function to return false.
Never throws: false is an answer, not a failure.
LoadEncoded
Loads binary data from an encoded string, replacing the current contents, if any. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
LoadFile
Loads data from a file.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
RemoveByteVal
Removes bytes having a specified value (0-255). For example, to remove all null bytes, pass 0 in value.
RemoveChunk
Removes a chunk of bytes from the binary data.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
SecureClear
Securely clears the contents by writing 0 bytes to the memory prior to deallocating the internal memory.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
WriteAppendFile
Appends the contents of this object to a file.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.
WriteFile
Writes the contents to a file.
Throws ChilkatException on failure; e.getLastErrorText() (or the object's getLastErrorText()) explains why, and the object remains usable.