My application can edit a type of text file called a TDAEntry. Each such entry is based on another type of file that describes its format, called a TDAForm. The very first line in a TDAEntry text file is the name of the form it belongs to, and then the rest of the data (in text form) follows.
For opening such a file now, here is my code, simplified:
InputStream entryInput = new FileInputStream(file);
BufferedReader entryReader = new BufferedReader(
new InputStreamReader(entryInput)); // PROBLEMATIC #1
String formName = entryReader.readLine();
TDAForm form = new TDAForm(formName);
// create an entry with the right form and the data which follows in entryInput
TDAEntry entry = new TDAEntry(form, entryInput); // PROBLEMATIC #2
Here's the problem. When reading the source code for InputStreamReader, you'll end up reading the code of this class:
which is buffered, which means that it reads about 8000 bytes ahead. This causes the InputStream at line "Problematic #2" to be empty and in the wrong spot, while I want it to continue as if only the very first line of the file had been read. Inside the constructor of TDAEntry I might want to construct another kind of reader on the stream, or do something else.
One obvious solution is writing a new decoder that doesn't eat up the bytes ahead. But I'm wondering if there's a simpler way to do this. How would you tackle the problem, or do you suggest another programming structure to accomplish the same thing?
Thanks a lot!
Just pass in the reader. it will keep reading where it left off:
TDAEntry entry = new TDAEntry(form, entryReader);