Interface DataFile

All Superinterfaces:
AutoCloseable
All Known Implementing Classes:
AbstractDataFile, FITSFile
public interface DataFile extends AutoCloseable
Represents a scientific data file (e.g., FITS, HDF5, NetCDF).

This interface provides a unified way to access metadata and data blocks within a structured scientific file. Implementations leverage Java NIO.2 for efficient I/O operations.

Since:
1.0
Author:
Silvere Martin-Michiellot, Gemini AI (Google DeepMind)

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    void
    close()
    Closes this file and releases any system resources associated with it.
    SeekableByteChannel
    getChannel()
    Returns the underlying byte channel for this file.
    String
    getFormatDescription()
    Returns a description of the file format version or standard (e.g.
    Path
    getPath()
    Returns the path to this file.
    void
    open(OpenOption... options)
    Opens this file with the specified options.

  • Method Details

    • getPath

      Path getPath()
      Returns the path to this file.
      Returns:
      the file path, or null if this is an in-memory or stream-based file.

    • open

      void open(OpenOption... options) throws IOException
      Opens this file with the specified options.
      Parameters:
      options - the options specifying how the file is opened
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs

    • getChannel

      SeekableByteChannel getChannel()
      Returns the underlying byte channel for this file.

      This allows direct low-level access if needed, though usually standard read/write methods should be preferred.

      Returns:
      the byte channel, or null if not open.

    • close

      void close() throws IOException
      Closes this file and releases any system resources associated with it.
      Specified by:
      close in interface AutoCloseable
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurs

    • getFormatDescription

      String getFormatDescription()
      Returns a description of the file format version or standard (e.g. "FITS 4.0").
      Returns:
      the format description.