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javax.sound.sampled
class AudioSystem

java.lang.Object extended by javax.sound.sampled.AudioSystem

public class AudioSystem
extends Object

The AudioSystem class acts as the entry point to the sampled-audio system resources. This class lets you query and access the mixers that are installed on the system. AudioSystem includes a number of methods for converting audio data between different formats, and for translating between audio files and streams. It also provides a method for obtaining a {@link Line} directly from the AudioSystem without dealing explicitly with mixers.

Properties can be used to specify the default mixer for specific line types. Both system properties and a properties file are considered. In the Sun reference implementation, the properties file is "lib/sound.properties" in the JRE directory. If a property exists both as a system property and in the properties file, the system property takes precedence. If none is specified, a suitable default is chosen among the available devices. The syntax of the properties file is specified in {@link java.util.Properties#load(InputStream) Properties.load}. The following table lists the available property keys and which methods consider them:

Property Key Interface Affected Method(s)
javax.sound.sampled.Clip {@link Clip} {@link #getLine}, {@link #getClip}
javax.sound.sampled.Port {@link Port} {@link #getLine}
javax.sound.sampled.SourceDataLine {@link SourceDataLine} {@link #getLine}, {@link #getSourceDataLine}
javax.sound.sampled.TargetDataLine {@link TargetDataLine} {@link #getLine}, {@link #getTargetDataLine}
The property value consists of the provider class name and the mixer name, separated by the hash mark ("#"). The provider class name is the fully-qualified name of a concrete {@link javax.sound.sampled.spi.MixerProvider mixer provider} class. The mixer name is matched against the String returned by the getName method of Mixer.Info. Either the class name, or the mixer name may be omitted. If only the class name is specified, the trailing hash mark is optional.

If the provider class is specified, and it can be successully retrieved from the installed providers, the list of Mixer.Info objects is retrieved from the provider. Otherwise, or when these mixers do not provide a subsequent match, the list is retrieved from {@link #getMixerInfo} to contain all available Mixer.Info objects.

If a mixer name is specified, the resulting list of Mixer.Info objects is searched: the first one with a matching name, and whose Mixer provides the respective line interface, will be returned. If no matching Mixer.Info object is found, or the mixer name is not specified, the first mixer from the resulting list, which provides the respective line interface, will be returned. For example, the property javax.sound.sampled.Clip with a value "com.sun.media.sound.MixerProvider#SunClip" will have the following consequences when getLine is called requesting a Clip instance: if the class com.sun.media.sound.MixerProvider exists in the list of installed mixer providers, the first Clip from the first mixer with name "SunClip" will be returned. If it cannot be found, the first Clip from the first mixer of the specified provider will be returned, regardless of name. If there is none, the first Clip from the first Mixer with name "SunClip" in the list of all mixers (as returned by getMixerInfo) will be returned, or, if not found, the first Clip of the first Mixerthat can be found in the list of all mixers is returned. If that fails, too, an IllegalArgumentException is thrown.


Field Summary
static int NOT_SPECIFIED
          An integer that stands for an unknown numeric value.
 
Method Summary
static AudioFileFormat

          Obtains the audio file format of the specified File.
static AudioFileFormat

          Obtains the audio file format of the provided input stream.
static AudioFileFormat

          Obtains the audio file format of the specified URL.
static AudioFileFormat.Type[]

          Obtains the file types for which file writing support is provided by the system.
static AudioFileFormat.Type[]

          Obtains the file types that the system can write from the audio input stream specified.
static AudioInputStream
getAudioInputStream(AudioFormat targetFormat, AudioInputStream sourceStream)

          Obtains an audio input stream of the indicated format, by converting the provided audio input stream.
static AudioInputStream

          Obtains an audio input stream of the indicated encoding, by converting the provided audio input stream.
static AudioInputStream

          Obtains an audio input stream from the provided File.
static AudioInputStream

          Obtains an audio input stream from the provided input stream.
static AudioInputStream

          Obtains an audio input stream from the URL provided.
static Clip

          Obtains a clip that can be used for playing back an audio file or an audio stream.
static Clip
getClip(Mixer.Info mixerInfo)

          Obtains a clip from the specified mixer that can be used for playing back an audio file or an audio stream.
static Line

          Obtains a line that matches the description in the specified Line.Info object.
static Mixer

          Obtains the requested audio mixer.
static Mixer.Info[]

          Obtains an array of mixer info objects that represents the set of audio mixers that are currently installed on the system.
static SourceDataLine

          Obtains a source data line that can be used for playing back audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object.
static SourceDataLine

          Obtains a source data line that can be used for playing back audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object, provided by the mixer specified by the Mixer.Info object.
static Line.Info[]

          Obtains information about all source lines of a particular type that are supported by the installed mixers.
static TargetDataLine

          Obtains a target data line that can be used for recording audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object.
static TargetDataLine

          Obtains a target data line that can be used for recording audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object, provided by the mixer specified by the Mixer.Info object.
static AudioFormat.Encoding[]

          Obtains the encodings that the system can obtain from an audio input stream with the specified format using the set of installed format converters.
static AudioFormat.Encoding[]

          Obtains the encodings that the system can obtain from an audio input stream with the specified encoding using the set of installed format converters.
static AudioFormat[]
getTargetFormats(AudioFormat.Encoding targetEncoding, AudioFormat sourceFormat)

          Obtains the formats that have a particular encoding and that the system can obtain from a stream of the specified format using the set of installed format converters.
static Line.Info[]

          Obtains information about all target lines of a particular type that are supported by the installed mixers.
static boolean
isConversionSupported(AudioFormat targetFormat, AudioFormat sourceFormat)

          Indicates whether an audio input stream of a specified format can be obtained from an audio input stream of another specified format.
static boolean

          Indicates whether an audio input stream of the specified encoding can be obtained from an audio input stream that has the specified format.
static boolean

          Indicates whether file writing support for the specified file type is provided by the system.
static boolean

          Indicates whether an audio file of the specified file type can be written from the indicated audio input stream.
static boolean

          Indicates whether the system supports any lines that match the specified Line.Info object.
static int

          Writes a stream of bytes representing an audio file of the specified file type to the external file provided.
static int

          Writes a stream of bytes representing an audio file of the specified file type to the output stream provided.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
 

Field Detail

NOT_SPECIFIED

public static final int NOT_SPECIFIED
An integer that stands for an unknown numeric value. This value is appropriate only for signed quantities that do not normally take negative values. Examples include file sizes, frame sizes, buffer sizes, and sample rates. A number of Java Sound constructors accept a value of NOT_SPECIFIED for such parameters. Other methods may also accept or return this value, as documented.
Method Detail

getAudioFileFormat

public static AudioFileFormat getAudioFileFormat(File file)
                                          throws UnsupportedAudioFileException,
                                                 IOException
Obtains the audio file format of the specified File. The File must point to valid audio file data.

Parameters:
file - the File from which file format information should be extracted
Returns:
an AudioFileFormat object describing the audio file format
Throws:
UnsupportedAudioFileException - if the File does not point to valid audio file data recognized by the system
IOException - if an I/O exception occurs

getAudioFileFormat

public static AudioFileFormat getAudioFileFormat(InputStream stream)
                                          throws UnsupportedAudioFileException,
                                                 IOException
Obtains the audio file format of the provided input stream. The stream must point to valid audio file data. The implementation of this method may require multiple parsers to examine the stream to determine whether they support it. These parsers must be able to mark the stream, read enough data to determine whether they support the stream, and, if not, reset the stream's read pointer to its original position. If the input stream does not support these operations, this method may fail with an IOException.

Parameters:
stream - the input stream from which file format information should be extracted
Returns:
an AudioFileFormat object describing the stream's audio file format
Throws:
UnsupportedAudioFileException - if the stream does not point to valid audio file data recognized by the system
IOException - if an input/output exception occurs

getAudioFileFormat

public static AudioFileFormat getAudioFileFormat(URL url)
                                          throws UnsupportedAudioFileException,
                                                 IOException
Obtains the audio file format of the specified URL. The URL must point to valid audio file data.

Parameters:
url - the URL from which file format information should be extracted
Returns:
an AudioFileFormat object describing the audio file format
Throws:
UnsupportedAudioFileException - if the URL does not point to valid audio file data recognized by the system
IOException - if an input/output exception occurs

getAudioFileTypes

public static AudioFileFormat.Type[] getAudioFileTypes()
Obtains the file types for which file writing support is provided by the system.

Returns:
array of unique file types. If no file types are supported, an array of length 0 is returned.

getAudioFileTypes

public static AudioFileFormat.Type[] getAudioFileTypes(AudioInputStream stream)
Obtains the file types that the system can write from the audio input stream specified.

Parameters:
stream - the audio input stream for which audio file type support is queried
Returns:
array of file types. If no file types are supported, an array of length 0 is returned.

getAudioInputStream

public static AudioInputStream getAudioInputStream(AudioFormat targetFormat,
                                                   AudioInputStream sourceStream)
Obtains an audio input stream of the indicated format, by converting the provided audio input stream.

Parameters:
targetFormat - the desired audio format after conversion
sourceStream - the stream to be converted
Returns:
an audio input stream of the indicated format

getAudioInputStream

public static AudioInputStream getAudioInputStream(AudioFormat.Encoding targetEncoding,
                                                   AudioInputStream sourceStream)
Obtains an audio input stream of the indicated encoding, by converting the provided audio input stream.

Parameters:
targetEncoding - the desired encoding after conversion
sourceStream - the stream to be converted
Returns:
an audio input stream of the indicated encoding

getAudioInputStream

public static AudioInputStream getAudioInputStream(File file)
                                            throws UnsupportedAudioFileException,
                                                   IOException
Obtains an audio input stream from the provided File. The File must point to valid audio file data.

Parameters:
file - the File for which the AudioInputStream should be constructed
Returns:
an AudioInputStream object based on the audio file data pointed to by the File
Throws:
UnsupportedAudioFileException - if the File does not point to valid audio file data recognized by the system
IOException - if an I/O exception occurs

getAudioInputStream

public static AudioInputStream getAudioInputStream(InputStream stream)
                                            throws UnsupportedAudioFileException,
                                                   IOException
Obtains an audio input stream from the provided input stream. The stream must point to valid audio file data. The implementation of this method may require multiple parsers to examine the stream to determine whether they support it. These parsers must be able to mark the stream, read enough data to determine whether they support the stream, and, if not, reset the stream's read pointer to its original position. If the input stream does not support these operation, this method may fail with an IOException.

Parameters:
stream - the input stream from which the AudioInputStream should be constructed
Returns:
an AudioInputStream object based on the audio file data contained in the input stream.
Throws:
UnsupportedAudioFileException - if the stream does not point to valid audio file data recognized by the system
IOException - if an I/O exception occurs

getAudioInputStream

public static AudioInputStream getAudioInputStream(URL url)
                                            throws UnsupportedAudioFileException,
                                                   IOException
Obtains an audio input stream from the URL provided. The URL must point to valid audio file data.

Parameters:
url - the URL for which the AudioInputStream should be constructed
Returns:
an AudioInputStream object based on the audio file data pointed to by the URL
Throws:
UnsupportedAudioFileException - if the URL does not point to valid audio file data recognized by the system
IOException - if an I/O exception occurs

getClip

public static Clip getClip()
                    throws LineUnavailableException
Obtains a clip that can be used for playing back an audio file or an audio stream. The returned clip will be provided by the default system mixer, or, if not possible, by any other mixer installed in the system that supports a Clip object.

The returned clip must be opened with the open(AudioFormat) or open(AudioInputStream) method.

This is a high-level method that uses getMixer and getLine internally.

If the system property javax.sound.sampled.Clip is defined or it is defined in the file "sound.properties", it is used to retrieve the default clip. For details, refer to the {@link AudioSystem class description}.

Returns:
the desired clip object
Throws:
LineUnavailableException - if a clip object is not available due to resource restrictions

getClip

public static Clip getClip(Mixer.Info mixerInfo)
                    throws LineUnavailableException
Obtains a clip from the specified mixer that can be used for playing back an audio file or an audio stream.

The returned clip must be opened with the open(AudioFormat) or open(AudioInputStream) method.

This is a high-level method that uses getMixer and getLine internally.

Parameters:
mixerInfo - a Mixer.Info object representing the desired mixer, or null for the system default mixer
Returns:
a clip object from the specified mixer
Throws:
LineUnavailableException - if a clip is not available from this mixer due to resource restrictions

getLine

public static Line getLine(Line.Info info)
                    throws LineUnavailableException
Obtains a line that matches the description in the specified Line.Info object.

If a DataLine is requested, and info is an instance of DataLine.Info specifying at least one fully qualified audio format, the last one will be used as the default format of the returned DataLine.

If system properties javax.sound.sampled.Clip, javax.sound.sampled.Port, javax.sound.sampled.SourceDataLine and javax.sound.sampled.TargetDataLine are defined or they are defined in the file "sound.properties", they are used to retrieve default lines. For details, refer to the {@link AudioSystem class description}. If the respective property is not set, or the mixer requested in the property is not installed or does not provide the requested line, all installed mixers are queried for the requested line type. A Line will be returned from the first mixer providing the requested line type.

Parameters:
info - a Line.Info object describing the desired kind of line
Returns:
a line of the requested kind
Throws:
LineUnavailableException - if a matching line is not available due to resource restrictions

getMixer

public static Mixer getMixer(Mixer.Info info)
Obtains the requested audio mixer.

Parameters:
info - a Mixer.Info object representing the desired mixer, or null for the system default mixer
Returns:
the requested mixer

getMixerInfo

public static Mixer.Info[] getMixerInfo()
Obtains an array of mixer info objects that represents the set of audio mixers that are currently installed on the system.

Returns:
an array of info objects for the currently installed mixers. If no mixers are available on the system, an array of length 0 is returned.

getSourceDataLine

public static SourceDataLine getSourceDataLine(AudioFormat format)
                                        throws LineUnavailableException
Obtains a source data line that can be used for playing back audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object. The returned line will be provided by the default system mixer, or, if not possible, by any other mixer installed in the system that supports a matching SourceDataLine object.

The returned line should be opened with the open(AudioFormat) or open(AudioFormat, int) method.

This is a high-level method that uses getMixer and getLine internally.

The returned SourceDataLine's default audio format will be initialized with format.

If the system property javax.sound.sampled.SourceDataLine is defined or it is defined in the file "sound.properties", it is used to retrieve the default source data line. For details, refer to the {@link AudioSystem class description}.

Parameters:
format - an AudioFormat object specifying the supported audio format of the returned line, or null for any audio format
Returns:
the desired SourceDataLine object
Throws:
LineUnavailableException - if a matching source data line is not available due to resource restrictions

getSourceDataLine

public static SourceDataLine getSourceDataLine(AudioFormat format,
                                               Mixer.Info mixerinfo)
                                        throws LineUnavailableException
Obtains a source data line that can be used for playing back audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object, provided by the mixer specified by the Mixer.Info object.

The returned line should be opened with the open(AudioFormat) or open(AudioFormat, int) method.

This is a high-level method that uses getMixer and getLine internally.

The returned SourceDataLine's default audio format will be initialized with format.

Parameters:
format - an AudioFormat object specifying the supported audio format of the returned line, or null for any audio format
mixerinfo - a Mixer.Info object representing the desired mixer, or null for the system default mixer
Returns:
the desired SourceDataLine object
Throws:
LineUnavailableException - if a matching source data line is not available from the specified mixer due to resource restrictions

getSourceLineInfo

public static Line.Info[] getSourceLineInfo(Line.Info info)
Obtains information about all source lines of a particular type that are supported by the installed mixers.

Parameters:
info - a Line.Info object that specifies the kind of lines about which information is requested
Returns:
an array of Line.Info objects describing source lines matching the type requested. If no matching source lines are supported, an array of length 0 is returned.

getTargetDataLine

public static TargetDataLine getTargetDataLine(AudioFormat format)
                                        throws LineUnavailableException
Obtains a target data line that can be used for recording audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object. The returned line will be provided by the default system mixer, or, if not possible, by any other mixer installed in the system that supports a matching TargetDataLine object.

The returned line should be opened with the open(AudioFormat) or open(AudioFormat, int) method.

This is a high-level method that uses getMixer and getLine internally.

The returned TargetDataLine's default audio format will be initialized with format.

Parameters:
format - an AudioFormat object specifying the supported audio format of the returned line, or null for any audio format
Returns:
the desired TargetDataLine object
Throws:
LineUnavailableException - if a matching target data line is not available due to resource restrictions

getTargetDataLine

public static TargetDataLine getTargetDataLine(AudioFormat format,
                                               Mixer.Info mixerinfo)
                                        throws LineUnavailableException
Obtains a target data line that can be used for recording audio data in the format specified by the AudioFormat object, provided by the mixer specified by the Mixer.Info object.

The returned line should be opened with the open(AudioFormat) or open(AudioFormat, int) method.

This is a high-level method that uses getMixer and getLine internally.

The returned TargetDataLine's default audio format will be initialized with format.

If the system property javax.sound.sampled.TargetDataLine is defined or it is defined in the file "sound.properties", it is used to retrieve the default target data line. For details, refer to the {@link AudioSystem class description}.

Parameters:
format - an AudioFormat object specifying the supported audio format of the returned line, or null for any audio format
mixerinfo - a Mixer.Info object representing the desired mixer, or null for the system default mixer
Returns:
the desired TargetDataLine object
Throws:
LineUnavailableException - if a matching target data line is not available from the specified mixer due to resource restrictions

getTargetEncodings

public static AudioFormat.Encoding[] getTargetEncodings(AudioFormat sourceFormat)
Obtains the encodings that the system can obtain from an audio input stream with the specified format using the set of installed format converters.

Parameters:
sourceFormat - the audio format for which conversion is queried
Returns:
array of encodings. If sourceFormatis not supported, an array of length 0 is returned. Otherwise, the array will have a length of at least 1, representing the encoding of sourceFormat (no conversion).

getTargetEncodings

public static AudioFormat.Encoding[] getTargetEncodings(AudioFormat.Encoding sourceEncoding)
Obtains the encodings that the system can obtain from an audio input stream with the specified encoding using the set of installed format converters.

Parameters:
sourceEncoding - the encoding for which conversion support is queried
Returns:
array of encodings. If sourceEncodingis not supported, an array of length 0 is returned. Otherwise, the array will have a length of at least 1, representing sourceEncoding (no conversion).

getTargetFormats

public static AudioFormat[] getTargetFormats(AudioFormat.Encoding targetEncoding,
                                             AudioFormat sourceFormat)
Obtains the formats that have a particular encoding and that the system can obtain from a stream of the specified format using the set of installed format converters.

Parameters:
targetEncoding - the desired encoding after conversion
sourceFormat - the audio format before conversion
Returns:
array of formats. If no formats of the specified encoding are supported, an array of length 0 is returned.

getTargetLineInfo

public static Line.Info[] getTargetLineInfo(Line.Info info)
Obtains information about all target lines of a particular type that are supported by the installed mixers.

Parameters:
info - a Line.Info object that specifies the kind of lines about which information is requested
Returns:
an array of Line.Info objects describing target lines matching the type requested. If no matching target lines are supported, an array of length 0 is returned.

isConversionSupported

public static boolean isConversionSupported(AudioFormat targetFormat,
                                            AudioFormat sourceFormat)
Indicates whether an audio input stream of a specified format can be obtained from an audio input stream of another specified format.

Parameters:
targetFormat - the desired audio format after conversion
sourceFormat - the audio format before conversion
Returns:
true if the conversion is supported, otherwise false

isConversionSupported

public static boolean isConversionSupported(AudioFormat.Encoding targetEncoding,
                                            AudioFormat sourceFormat)
Indicates whether an audio input stream of the specified encoding can be obtained from an audio input stream that has the specified format.

Parameters:
targetEncoding - the desired encoding after conversion
sourceFormat - the audio format before conversion
Returns:
true if the conversion is supported, otherwise false

isFileTypeSupported

public static boolean isFileTypeSupported(AudioFileFormat.Type fileType)
Indicates whether file writing support for the specified file type is provided by the system.

Parameters:
fileType - the file type for which write capabilities are queried
Returns:
true if the file type is supported, otherwise false

isFileTypeSupported

public static boolean isFileTypeSupported(AudioFileFormat.Type fileType,
                                          AudioInputStream stream)
Indicates whether an audio file of the specified file type can be written from the indicated audio input stream.

Parameters:
fileType - the file type for which write capabilities are queried
stream - the stream for which file-writing support is queried
Returns:
true if the file type is supported for this audio input stream, otherwise false

isLineSupported

public static boolean isLineSupported(Line.Info info)
Indicates whether the system supports any lines that match the specified Line.Info object. A line is supported if any installed mixer supports it.

Parameters:
info - a Line.Info object describing the line for which support is queried
Returns:
true if at least one matching line is supported, otherwise false

write

public static int write(AudioInputStream stream,
                        AudioFileFormat.Type fileType,
                        File out)
                 throws IOException
Writes a stream of bytes representing an audio file of the specified file type to the external file provided.

Parameters:
stream - the audio input stream containing audio data to be written to the file
fileType - the kind of audio file to write
out - the external file to which the file data should be written
Returns:
the number of bytes written to the file
Throws:
IOException - if an I/O exception occurs

write

public static int write(AudioInputStream stream,
                        AudioFileFormat.Type fileType,
                        OutputStream out)
                 throws IOException
Writes a stream of bytes representing an audio file of the specified file type to the output stream provided. Some file types require that the length be written into the file header; such files cannot be written from start to finish unless the length is known in advance. An attempt to write a file of such a type will fail with an IOException if the length in the audio file type is AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED.

Parameters:
stream - the audio input stream containing audio data to be written to the file
fileType - the kind of audio file to write
out - the stream to which the file data should be written
Returns:
the number of bytes written to the output stream
Throws:
IOException - if an input/output exception occurs


This documentation differs from the official API. Jadeite adds extra features to the API including: variable font sizes, constructions examples, placeholders for classes and methods, and auto-generated “See Also” links. Additionally it is missing some items found in standard Javadoc documentation, including: generics type information, “Deprecated” tags and comments, “See Also” links, along with other minor differences. Please send any questions or feedback to bam@cs.cmu.edu.
This page displays the Jadeite version of the documention, which is derived from the offical documentation that contains this copyright notice:
Copyright 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms. Also see the documentation redistribution policy.
The official Sun™ documentation can be found here at http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/api/.