Convert InputStream to byte array in Java

Question

How do I read an entire InputStream into a byte array?

Answer 1

Solution in Kotlin (will work in Java too, of course), which includes both cases of when you know the size or not:

    fun InputStream.readBytesWithSize(size: Long): ByteArray? {
        return when {
            size < 0L -> this.readBytes()
            size == 0L -> ByteArray(0)
            size > Int.MAX_VALUE -> null
            else -> {
                val sizeInt = size.toInt()
                val result = ByteArray(sizeInt)
                readBytesIntoByteArray(result, sizeInt)
                result
            }
        }
    }

    fun InputStream.readBytesIntoByteArray(byteArray: ByteArray,bytesToRead:Int=byteArray.size) {
        var offset = 0
        while (true) {
            val read = this.read(byteArray, offset, bytesToRead - offset)
            if (read == -1)
                break
            offset += read
            if (offset >= bytesToRead)
                break
        }
    }

If you know the size, it saves you on having double the memory used compared to the other solutions (in a brief moment, but still could be useful). That's because you have to read the entire stream to the end, and then convert it to a byte array (similar to ArrayList which you convert to just an array).

So, if you are on Android, for example, and you got some Uri to handle, you can try to get the size using this:

    fun getStreamLengthFromUri(context: Context, uri: Uri): Long {
        context.contentResolver.query(uri, arrayOf(MediaStore.MediaColumns.SIZE), null, null, null)?.use {
            if (!it.moveToNext())
                return@use
            val fileSize = it.getLong(it.getColumnIndex(MediaStore.MediaColumns.SIZE))
            if (fileSize > 0)
                return fileSize
        }
        //if you wish, you can also get the file-path from the uri here, and then try to get its size, using this: https://stackoverflow.com/a/61835665/878126
        FileUtilEx.getFilePathFromUri(context, uri, false)?.use {
            val file = it.file
            val fileSize = file.length()
            if (fileSize > 0)
                return fileSize
        }
        context.contentResolver.openInputStream(uri)?.use { inputStream ->
            if (inputStream is FileInputStream)
                return inputStream.channel.size()
            else {
                var bytesCount = 0L
                while (true) {
                    val available = inputStream.available()
                    if (available == 0)
                        break
                    val skip = inputStream.skip(available.toLong())
                    if (skip < 0)
                        break
                    bytesCount += skip
                }
                if (bytesCount > 0L)
                    return bytesCount
            }
        }
        return -1L
    }