Module java.base
Package java.net

Class DatagramSocket

java.lang.Object
java.net.DatagramSocket
All Implemented Interfaces:
Closeable, AutoCloseable
Direct Known Subclasses:
MulticastSocket
public class DatagramSocket
extends Object
implements Closeable
This class represents a socket for sending and receiving datagram packets.

A datagram socket is the sending or receiving point for a packet delivery service. Each packet sent or received on a datagram socket is individually addressed and routed. Multiple packets sent from one machine to another may be routed differently, and may arrive in any order.

Where possible, a newly constructed DatagramSocket has the SO_BROADCAST socket option enabled so as to allow the transmission of broadcast datagrams. In order to receive broadcast packets a DatagramSocket should be bound to the wildcard address. In some implementations, broadcast packets may also be received when a DatagramSocket is bound to a more specific address.

Example: 


              DatagramSocket s = new DatagramSocket(null);
              s.bind(new InetSocketAddress(8888));
Which is equivalent to: 

              DatagramSocket s = new DatagramSocket(8888);
Both cases will create a DatagramSocket able to receive broadcasts on UDP port 8888.

The DatagramSocket class defines convenience methods to set and get several socket options. This class also defines the setOption and getOption methods to set and query socket options. A DatagramSocket supports the following socket options:

Socket options
Option Name Description
SO_SNDBUF The size of the socket send buffer
SO_RCVBUF The size of the socket receive buffer
SO_REUSEADDR Re-use address
SO_BROADCAST Allow transmission of broadcast datagrams
IP_TOS The Type of Service (ToS) octet in the Internet Protocol (IP) header
An implementation may also support additional options. In particular an implementation may support multicast options which can be useful when using a plain DatagramSocket to send datagrams to a multicast group.

Since:
1.0
See Also:
DatagramPacket, DatagramChannel

  • Constructor Details

    • DatagramSocket

      public DatagramSocket() throws SocketException
      Constructs a datagram socket and binds it to any available port on the local host machine. The socket will be bound to the wildcard address, an IP address chosen by the kernel.

      If there is a security manager, its checkListen method is first called with 0 as its argument to ensure the operation is allowed. This could result in a SecurityException.

      Throws:
      SocketException - if the socket could not be opened, or the socket could not bind to the specified local port.
      SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its checkListen method doesn't allow the operation.
      See Also:
      SecurityManager.checkListen(int)

    • DatagramSocket

      protected DatagramSocket​(DatagramSocketImpl impl)
      Creates an unbound datagram socket with the specified DatagramSocketImpl.
      Parameters:
      impl - an instance of a DatagramSocketImpl the subclass wishes to use on the DatagramSocket.
      Since:
      1.4

    • DatagramSocket

      public DatagramSocket​(SocketAddress bindaddr) throws SocketException
      Creates a datagram socket, bound to the specified local socket address.

      If, if the address is null, creates an unbound socket.

      If there is a security manager, its checkListen method is first called with the port from the socket address as its argument to ensure the operation is allowed. This could result in a SecurityException.

      Parameters:
      bindaddr - local socket address to bind, or null for an unbound socket.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if the socket could not be opened, or the socket could not bind to the specified local port.
      SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its checkListen method doesn't allow the operation.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      SecurityManager.checkListen(int)

    • DatagramSocket

      public DatagramSocket​(int port) throws SocketException
      Constructs a datagram socket and binds it to the specified port on the local host machine. The socket will be bound to the wildcard address, an IP address chosen by the kernel.

      If there is a security manager, its checkListen method is first called with the port argument as its argument to ensure the operation is allowed. This could result in a SecurityException.

      Parameters:
      port - port to use.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if the socket could not be opened, or the socket could not bind to the specified local port.
      SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its checkListen method doesn't allow the operation.
      See Also:
      SecurityManager.checkListen(int)

    • DatagramSocket

      public DatagramSocket​(int port, InetAddress laddr) throws SocketException
      Creates a datagram socket, bound to the specified local address. The local port must be between 0 and 65535 inclusive. If the IP address is 0.0.0.0, the socket will be bound to the wildcard address, an IP address chosen by the kernel.

      If there is a security manager, its checkListen method is first called with the port argument as its argument to ensure the operation is allowed. This could result in a SecurityException.

      Parameters:
      port - local port to use
      laddr - local address to bind
      Throws:
      SocketException - if the socket could not be opened, or the socket could not bind to the specified local port.
      SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its checkListen method doesn't allow the operation.
      Since:
      1.1
      See Also:
      SecurityManager.checkListen(int)

  • Method Details

    • bind

      public void bind​(SocketAddress addr) throws SocketException
      Binds this DatagramSocket to a specific address and port.

      If the address is null, then the system will pick up an ephemeral port and a valid local address to bind the socket.

      Parameters:
      addr - The address and port to bind to.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if any error happens during the bind, or if the socket is already bound.
      SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its checkListen method doesn't allow the operation.
      IllegalArgumentException - if addr is a SocketAddress subclass not supported by this socket.
      Since:
      1.4

    • connect

      public void connect​(InetAddress address, int port)
      Connects the socket to a remote address for this socket. When a socket is connected to a remote address, packets may only be sent to or received from that address. By default a datagram socket is not connected.

      If the remote destination to which the socket is connected does not exist, or is otherwise unreachable, and if an ICMP destination unreachable packet has been received for that address, then a subsequent call to send or receive may throw a PortUnreachableException. Note, there is no guarantee that the exception will be thrown.

      If a security manager has been installed then it is invoked to check access to the remote address. Specifically, if the given address is a multicast address, the security manager's checkMulticast method is invoked with the given address. Otherwise, the security manager's checkConnect and checkAccept methods are invoked, with the given address and port, to verify that datagrams are permitted to be sent and received respectively.

      Care should be taken to ensure that a connected datagram socket is not shared with untrusted code. When a socket is connected, receive and send will not perform any security checks on incoming and outgoing packets, other than matching the packet's and the socket's address and port. On a send operation, if the packet's address is set and the packet's address and the socket's address do not match, an IllegalArgumentException will be thrown. A socket connected to a multicast address may only be used to send packets.

      Parameters:
      address - the remote address for the socket
      port - the remote port for the socket.
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the address is null, or the port is out of range.
      SecurityException - if a security manager has been installed and it does not permit access to the given remote address
      See Also:
      disconnect()

    • connect

      public void connect​(SocketAddress addr) throws SocketException
      Connects this socket to a remote socket address (IP address + port number).

      If given an InetSocketAddress, this method behaves as if invoking connect(InetAddress,int) with the given socket addresses IP address and port number.

      Parameters:
      addr - The remote address.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if the connect fails
      IllegalArgumentException - if addr is null, or addr is a SocketAddress subclass not supported by this socket
      SecurityException - if a security manager has been installed and it does not permit access to the given remote address
      Since:
      1.4

    • disconnect

      public void disconnect()
      Disconnects the socket. If the socket is closed or not connected, then this method has no effect.
      See Also:
      connect(java.net.InetAddress, int)

    • isBound

      public boolean isBound()
      Returns the binding state of the socket.

      If the socket was bound prior to being closed, then this method will continue to return true after the socket is closed.

      Returns:
      true if the socket successfully bound to an address
      Since:
      1.4

    • isConnected

      public boolean isConnected()
      Returns the connection state of the socket.

      If the socket was connected prior to being closed, then this method will continue to return true after the socket is closed.

      Returns:
      true if the socket successfully connected to a server
      Since:
      1.4

    • getInetAddress

      public InetAddress getInetAddress()
      Returns the address to which this socket is connected. Returns null if the socket is not connected.

      If the socket was connected prior to being closed, then this method will continue to return the connected address after the socket is closed.

      Returns:
      the address to which this socket is connected.

    • getPort

      public int getPort()
      Returns the port number to which this socket is connected. Returns -1 if the socket is not connected.

      If the socket was connected prior to being closed, then this method will continue to return the connected port number after the socket is closed.

      Returns:
      the port number to which this socket is connected.

    • getRemoteSocketAddress

      public SocketAddress getRemoteSocketAddress()
      Returns the address of the endpoint this socket is connected to, or null if it is unconnected.

      If the socket was connected prior to being closed, then this method will continue to return the connected address after the socket is closed.

      Returns:
      a SocketAddress representing the remote endpoint of this socket, or null if it is not connected yet.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      getInetAddress(), getPort(), connect(SocketAddress)

    • getLocalSocketAddress

      public SocketAddress getLocalSocketAddress()
      Returns the address of the endpoint this socket is bound to.
      Returns:
      a SocketAddress representing the local endpoint of this socket, or null if it is closed or not bound yet.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      getLocalAddress(), getLocalPort(), bind(SocketAddress)

    • send

      public void send​(DatagramPacket p) throws IOException
      Sends a datagram packet from this socket. The DatagramPacket includes information indicating the data to be sent, its length, the IP address of the remote host, and the port number on the remote host.

      If there is a security manager, and the socket is not currently connected to a remote address, this method first performs some security checks. First, if p.getAddress().isMulticastAddress() is true, this method calls the security manager's checkMulticast method with p.getAddress() as its argument. If the evaluation of that expression is false, this method instead calls the security manager's checkConnect method with arguments p.getAddress().getHostAddress() and p.getPort(). Each call to a security manager method could result in a SecurityException if the operation is not allowed.

      Parameters:
      p - the DatagramPacket to be sent.
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs.
      SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its checkMulticast or checkConnect method doesn't allow the send.
      PortUnreachableException - may be thrown if the socket is connected to a currently unreachable destination. Note, there is no guarantee that the exception will be thrown.
      IllegalBlockingModeException - if this socket has an associated channel, and the channel is in non-blocking mode.
      IllegalArgumentException - if the socket is connected, and connected address and packet address differ, or if the socket is not connected and the packet address is not set.
      See Also:
      DatagramPacket, SecurityManager.checkMulticast(InetAddress), SecurityManager.checkConnect(java.lang.String, int)

    • receive

      public void receive​(DatagramPacket p) throws IOException
      Receives a datagram packet from this socket. When this method returns, the DatagramPacket's buffer is filled with the data received. The datagram packet also contains the sender's IP address, and the port number on the sender's machine.

      This method blocks until a datagram is received. The length field of the datagram packet object contains the length of the received message. If the message is longer than the packet's length, the message is truncated.

      If there is a security manager, and the socket is not currently connected to a remote address, a packet cannot be received if the security manager's checkAccept method does not allow it. Datagrams that are not permitted by the security manager are silently discarded.

      Parameters:
      p - the DatagramPacket into which to place the incoming data.
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs.
      SocketTimeoutException - if setSoTimeout was previously called and the timeout has expired.
      PortUnreachableException - may be thrown if the socket is connected to a currently unreachable destination. Note, there is no guarantee that the exception will be thrown.
      IllegalBlockingModeException - if this socket has an associated channel, and the channel is in non-blocking mode.
      See Also:
      DatagramPacket, DatagramSocket

    • getLocalAddress

      public InetAddress getLocalAddress()
      Gets the local address to which the socket is bound.

      If there is a security manager, its checkConnect method is first called with the host address and -1 as its arguments to see if the operation is allowed.

      Returns:
      the local address to which the socket is bound, null if the socket is closed, or an InetAddress representing wildcard address if either the socket is not bound, or the security manager checkConnect method does not allow the operation
      Since:
      1.1
      See Also:
      SecurityManager.checkConnect(java.lang.String, int)

    • getLocalPort

      public int getLocalPort()
      Returns the port number on the local host to which this socket is bound.
      Returns:
      the port number on the local host to which this socket is bound, -1 if the socket is closed, or 0 if it is not bound yet.

    • setSoTimeout

      public void setSoTimeout​(int timeout) throws SocketException
      Enable/disable SO_TIMEOUT with the specified timeout, in milliseconds. With this option set to a positive timeout value, a call to receive() for this DatagramSocket will block for only this amount of time. If the timeout expires, a java.net.SocketTimeoutException is raised, though the DatagramSocket is still valid. A timeout of zero is interpreted as an infinite timeout. The option must be enabled prior to entering the blocking operation to have effect.
      Parameters:
      timeout - the specified timeout in milliseconds.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      IllegalArgumentException - if timeout is negative
      Since:
      1.1
      See Also:
      getSoTimeout()

    • getSoTimeout

      public int getSoTimeout() throws SocketException
      Retrieve setting for SO_TIMEOUT. 0 returns implies that the option is disabled (i.e., timeout of infinity).
      Returns:
      the setting for SO_TIMEOUT
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      Since:
      1.1
      See Also:
      setSoTimeout(int)

    • setSendBufferSize

      public void setSendBufferSize​(int size) throws SocketException
      Sets the SO_SNDBUF option to the specified value for this DatagramSocket. The SO_SNDBUF option is used by the network implementation as a hint to size the underlying network I/O buffers. The SO_SNDBUF setting may also be used by the network implementation to determine the maximum size of the packet that can be sent on this socket.

      As SO_SNDBUF is a hint, applications that want to verify what size the buffer is should call getSendBufferSize().

      Increasing the buffer size may allow multiple outgoing packets to be queued by the network implementation when the send rate is high.

      Note: If send(DatagramPacket) is used to send a DatagramPacket that is larger than the setting of SO_SNDBUF then it is implementation specific if the packet is sent or discarded.

      Parameters:
      size - the size to which to set the send buffer size. This value must be greater than 0.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      IllegalArgumentException - if the value is 0 or is negative.
      See Also:
      getSendBufferSize()

    • getSendBufferSize

      public int getSendBufferSize() throws SocketException
      Get value of the SO_SNDBUF option for this DatagramSocket, that is the buffer size used by the platform for output on this DatagramSocket.
      Returns:
      the value of the SO_SNDBUF option for this DatagramSocket
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      See Also:
      setSendBufferSize(int)

    • setReceiveBufferSize

      public void setReceiveBufferSize​(int size) throws SocketException
      Sets the SO_RCVBUF option to the specified value for this DatagramSocket. The SO_RCVBUF option is used by the network implementation as a hint to size the underlying network I/O buffers. The SO_RCVBUF setting may also be used by the network implementation to determine the maximum size of the packet that can be received on this socket.

      Because SO_RCVBUF is a hint, applications that want to verify what size the buffers were set to should call getReceiveBufferSize().

      Increasing SO_RCVBUF may allow the network implementation to buffer multiple packets when packets arrive faster than are being received using receive(DatagramPacket).

      Note: It is implementation specific if a packet larger than SO_RCVBUF can be received.

      Parameters:
      size - the size to which to set the receive buffer size. This value must be greater than 0.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      IllegalArgumentException - if the value is 0 or is negative.
      See Also:
      getReceiveBufferSize()

    • getReceiveBufferSize

      public int getReceiveBufferSize() throws SocketException
      Get value of the SO_RCVBUF option for this DatagramSocket, that is the buffer size used by the platform for input on this DatagramSocket.
      Returns:
      the value of the SO_RCVBUF option for this DatagramSocket
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      See Also:
      setReceiveBufferSize(int)

    • setReuseAddress

      public void setReuseAddress​(boolean on) throws SocketException
      Enable/disable the SO_REUSEADDR socket option.

      For UDP sockets it may be necessary to bind more than one socket to the same socket address. This is typically for the purpose of receiving multicast packets (See MulticastSocket). The SO_REUSEADDR socket option allows multiple sockets to be bound to the same socket address if the SO_REUSEADDR socket option is enabled prior to binding the socket using bind(SocketAddress).

      Note: This functionality is not supported by all existing platforms, so it is implementation specific whether this option will be ignored or not. However, if it is not supported then getReuseAddress() will always return false.

      When a DatagramSocket is created the initial setting of SO_REUSEADDR is disabled.

      The behaviour when SO_REUSEADDR is enabled or disabled after a socket is bound (See isBound()) is not defined.

      Parameters:
      on - whether to enable or disable the
      Throws:
      SocketException - if an error occurs enabling or disabling the SO_REUSEADDR socket option, or the socket is closed.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      getReuseAddress(), bind(SocketAddress), isBound(), isClosed()

    • getReuseAddress

      public boolean getReuseAddress() throws SocketException
      Tests if SO_REUSEADDR is enabled.
      Returns:
      a boolean indicating whether or not SO_REUSEADDR is enabled.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      setReuseAddress(boolean)

    • setBroadcast

      public void setBroadcast​(boolean on) throws SocketException
      Enable/disable SO_BROADCAST.

      Some operating systems may require that the Java virtual machine be started with implementation specific privileges to enable this option or send broadcast datagrams.

      Parameters:
      on - whether or not to have broadcast turned on.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      getBroadcast()

    • getBroadcast

      public boolean getBroadcast() throws SocketException
      Tests if SO_BROADCAST is enabled.
      Returns:
      a boolean indicating whether or not SO_BROADCAST is enabled.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error in the underlying protocol, such as an UDP error.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      setBroadcast(boolean)

    • setTrafficClass

      public void setTrafficClass​(int tc) throws SocketException
      Sets traffic class or type-of-service octet in the IP datagram header for datagrams sent from this DatagramSocket. As the underlying network implementation may ignore this value applications should consider it a hint.

      The tc must be in the range 0 <= tc <= 255 or an IllegalArgumentException will be thrown.

      Notes:

      For Internet Protocol v4 the value consists of an integer, the least significant 8 bits of which represent the value of the TOS octet in IP packets sent by the socket. RFC 1349 defines the TOS values as follows:

      • IPTOS_LOWCOST (0x02)
      • IPTOS_RELIABILITY (0x04)
      • IPTOS_THROUGHPUT (0x08)
      • IPTOS_LOWDELAY (0x10)
      The last low order bit is always ignored as this corresponds to the MBZ (must be zero) bit.

      Setting bits in the precedence field may result in a SocketException indicating that the operation is not permitted.

      for Internet Protocol v6 tc is the value that would be placed into the sin6_flowinfo field of the IP header.

      Parameters:
      tc - an int value for the bitset.
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error setting the traffic class or type-of-service
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      getTrafficClass()

    • getTrafficClass

      public int getTrafficClass() throws SocketException
      Gets traffic class or type-of-service in the IP datagram header for packets sent from this DatagramSocket.

      As the underlying network implementation may ignore the traffic class or type-of-service set using setTrafficClass(int) this method may return a different value than was previously set using the setTrafficClass(int) method on this DatagramSocket.

      Returns:
      the traffic class or type-of-service already set
      Throws:
      SocketException - if there is an error obtaining the traffic class or type-of-service value.
      Since:
      1.4
      See Also:
      setTrafficClass(int)

    • close

      public void close()
      Closes this datagram socket.

      Any thread currently blocked in receive(java.net.DatagramPacket) upon this socket will throw a SocketException.

      If this socket has an associated channel then the channel is closed as well.

      Specified by:
      close in interface AutoCloseable
      Specified by:
      close in interface Closeable

    • isClosed

      public boolean isClosed()
      Returns whether the socket is closed or not.
      Returns:
      true if the socket has been closed
      Since:
      1.4

    • getChannel

      public DatagramChannel getChannel()
      Returns the unique DatagramChannel object associated with this datagram socket, if any.

      A datagram socket will have a channel if, and only if, the channel itself was created via the DatagramChannel.open method.

      Returns:
      the datagram channel associated with this datagram socket, or null if this socket was not created for a channel
      Since:
      1.4

    • setDatagramSocketImplFactory

      public static void setDatagramSocketImplFactory​(DatagramSocketImplFactory fac) throws IOException
      Sets the datagram socket implementation factory for the application. The factory can be specified only once.

      When an application creates a new datagram socket, the socket implementation factory's createDatagramSocketImpl method is called to create the actual datagram socket implementation.

      Passing null to the method is a no-op unless the factory was already set.

      If there is a security manager, this method first calls the security manager's checkSetFactory method to ensure the operation is allowed. This could result in a SecurityException.

      Parameters:
      fac - the desired factory.
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs when setting the datagram socket factory.
      SocketException - if the factory is already defined.
      SecurityException - if a security manager exists and its checkSetFactory method doesn't allow the operation.
      Since:
      1.3
      See Also:
      DatagramSocketImplFactory.createDatagramSocketImpl(), SecurityManager.checkSetFactory()

    • setOption

      public <T> DatagramSocket setOption​(SocketOption<T> name, T value) throws IOException
      Sets the value of a socket option.
      Type Parameters:
      T - The type of the socket option value
      Parameters:
      name - The socket option
      value - The value of the socket option. A value of null may be valid for some options.
      Returns:
      this DatagramSocket
      Throws:
      UnsupportedOperationException - if the datagram socket does not support the option.
      IllegalArgumentException - if the value is not valid for the option.
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs, or if the socket is closed.
      SecurityException - if a security manager is set and if the socket option requires a security permission and if the caller does not have the required permission. StandardSocketOptions do not require any security permission.
      NullPointerException - if name is null
      Since:
      9

    • getOption

      public <T> T getOption​(SocketOption<T> name) throws IOException
      Returns the value of a socket option.
      Type Parameters:
      T - The type of the socket option value
      Parameters:
      name - The socket option
      Returns:
      The value of the socket option.
      Throws:
      UnsupportedOperationException - if the datagram socket does not support the option.
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs, or if the socket is closed.
      NullPointerException - if name is null
      SecurityException - if a security manager is set and if the socket option requires a security permission and if the caller does not have the required permission. StandardSocketOptions do not require any security permission.
      Since:
      9

    • supportedOptions

      public Set<SocketOption<?>> supportedOptions()
      Returns a set of the socket options supported by this socket. This method will continue to return the set of options even after the socket has been closed.
      Returns:
      A set of the socket options supported by this socket. This set may be empty if the socket's DatagramSocketImpl cannot be created.
      Since:
      9