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javaniojava-7

Using FileChannel to fsync a directory with NIO.2

I just discovered that with NIO.2, at least under Linux, I can open a FileChannel on a directory, and calling force(true) calls fsync() on the underlying file descriptor. Without getting into whether this should be necessary, it's nice to finally have this functionality available in pure Java.

I haven't been able to find anywhere that this behaviour is documented, though. Can I count on this working on all Unix platforms, in future versions of Java, and in non-Oracle JVMs?

Solution

  • See the following thread: http://mail.openjdk.java.net/pipermail/nio-dev/2015-May/003140.html

    It was not technically supported, but looks like support will be retained as many applications rely on it.