Java™ Networking

API Specification

API Enhancements

Features and Enhancements in version 7
Features and Enhancements in version 6
Features and Enhancements in version 5.0
New Features and Enhancements in version 1.4
Networking Release Notes for version 1.4.2
New Features and Enhancements in version 1.3

Tutorials and Programmer's Guides

Networking Overview (also available in PDF)
Overview of networking facilities in java.net, including Addressing, Making TCP Connections, Sending/Receiving Datagram Packets via UDP, Locating/Identifying Network Resources, and Security.
HTTP client API. The following articles describe features of the HTTP client API. (See java.net.HttpURLConnection for an overview).
- URLConnection Caching API
  Detailed overview, with code samples, of the new cache management API.
- Cookie Management
  Overview of how to deal with cookies, often used as an HTTP state management mechanism, in J2SE 5.0.
- Http authentication
  Overview of how to use HTTP authentication, which schemes and protocols are supported, and the system properties that affect its behavior.
- Persistent Connections
  Overview of the HTTP persistent connections (aka keep alive mechanisms), and the means to control them.
Java Networking and Proxies
In depth exploration, with code samples, of proxy management Java networking APIs including the newly introduced ProxySelector mechanism.
IPv6 Support (also available in PDF)
IPv6 support, including special IPv6 address types and dual-stack node.
Networking Properties
Descriptions of properties used by networking.
Orderly Versus Abortive Connection Release in Java
How to ensure orderly or graceful release of TCP connections in Networking applications.
Extendable Socket and ServerSocket
The design, rationale, and how to do it.
Socket Options
Support for popular BSD-style options in the java base classes.
Socket Exceptions
Subclasses of SocketException for finer granularity of handling network errors.
Sockets Direct Protocol, a trail in The Java Tutorials.