Does Java NIO support broadcast or multicast?

Question

I am searching if Java NIO implements broadcast. I need to create a peer that sends messages to other peers, using multicast or broadcast. I was searching in the API 1.6, but I don't find anything in the DatagramChannel class.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

NIO2 supports multicast, that's in Java 7.

http://javanio.info/filearea/nioserver/WhatsNewNIO2.pdf

Answer 2

Before NIO2 you have to make use of all kinds of hacks to make a datagram channel join a multicast group. Not sure how they could have left multicast channels out of NIO1.

Answer 3

You don't need to use NIO for this, java.net.MulticastSocket supports this directly.

But, to completely answer your question, no. You cannot use a DatagramChannel because you cannot tell it what socket to use, and there is nothing else even close to what you would need in NIO.