convert-string-to-input-stream

Posted on: 2019-10-08 2019-11-19
Tags: Java IO, Java String

Java String to InputStream

1. Overview

In this quick tutorial, we’re going to look at how to convert a standard String to an InputStream using plain Java, Guava and the Apache Commons IO library.

This article is part of the “Java – Back to Basic” series here on Baeldung.

2. Convert with Plain Java

Let’s start with a simple example using Java to do the conversion – using an intermediary byte array:

@Test
public void givenUsingPlainJava_whenConvertingStringToInputStream_thenCorrect()
  throws IOException {
    String initialString = "text";
    InputStream targetStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(initialString.getBytes());
}

Note that the getBytes() method encodes this String using the platform’s default charset so to avoid undesirable behavior you can use getBytes(Charset charset) and control the encoding process.

3. Convert with Guava

Guava doesn’t provide a direct conversion method, but does allow us to get a Reader out of the String – at which point, obtaining the InputStream is easy:

@Test
public void givenUsingGuava_whenConvertingStringToInputStream_thenCorrect()
  throws IOException {
    String initialString = "text";
    InputStream targetStream =
     new ReaderInputStream(CharSource.wrap(initialString).openStream());
}

4. Convert with Commons IO

Finally, the Apache Commons IO library provides an excellent direct solution:

@Test
public void givenUsingCommonsIO_whenConvertingStringToInputStream_thenCorrect()
  throws IOException {
    String initialString = "text";
    InputStream targetStream = IOUtils.toInputStream(initialString);
}

Finally – do note that we’re leaving the input stream open in these examples – don’t forget to close it when you’re done.

That’s it – three simple and concise ways to get an InputStream out of a simple String.

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