Comparing Traditional Java IO with New IO (NIO)
Jul 13, 2025 am 02:50 AMTraditional IO is suitable for simple file reading and writing, while NIO is suitable for concurrent and non-blocking scenarios. 1. Traditional IO is a blocking stream operation, suitable for small amounts of connections and sequential processing; 2. NIO is based on channels and buffers, supports non-blocking and multiplexing, suitable for high concurrency and random access; 3. NIO can memory map files, improving the processing efficiency of large files; 4. Traditional IO API is simple and easy to use, strong compatibility, and high NIO learning and debugging costs; 5. Choose according to performance requirements, if there is no bottleneck, there is no need to force replacement.
Java IO operations have undergone two major changes in the development process: traditional Java IO and Java NIO (New IO). They each have applicable scenarios, but when choosing, it should be determined according to the specific needs. If you need to deal with a large number of concurrent connections or non-blocking operations, NIO is more suitable; if it is just simple file reading and writing, traditional IO is still enough.

Blocking vs. non-blocking
This is one of the most core differences between the two.

- Traditional IO is based on Stream, and every read and write is blocked. That is, when you call
read()
orwrite()
, the program will wait until data is read or written. - NIO is based on channels (Channel) and buffers (Buffer), and supports non-blocking mode. You can initiate a read request and do something else, and then come back to process the data when it is ready.
For example, suppose you have a server that processes 1000 client connections at the same time:
- With traditional IO, you may need to open one thread for each connection, which can lead to high resource consumption and complex management.
- With NIO, you can use one thread to monitor multiple channels, and realize event-driven through Selector, which is more efficient.
Different data transmission methods
Another key difference is the way data is transmitted.

- Traditional IO is a streaming transmission for bytes or characters, and the data must be processed in order and cannot be read and written leap.
- NIO supports mapping files into memory (Memory-mapped files), allowing random access to file contents, which is faster.
For example, you want to read the middle part of a large file:
- Traditional IO must be read from scratch until the target position.
- NIO can directly jump to the specified location for reading, saving time.
This is also why NIO is more popular in handling large files or high-performance scenarios.
Coding habits and compatibility
Although NIO has better performance, it also has its "threshold" in actual development.
- The traditional IO API is simple and intuitive, with low learning cost, and is suitable for most basic application scenarios.
- NIO 's API is relatively complex and requires understanding of concepts such as Buffer, Channel, and Selector, so debugging is also more troublesome.
In addition, many old systems or libraries still use traditional IO, and the migration cost is not low. Unless you do encounter a performance bottleneck, there is no need to force NIO to switch.
Basically that's it. The two types of IO have their own advantages, and which one is chosen depends on your project requirements and performance requirements.
The above is the detailed content of Comparing Traditional Java IO with New IO (NIO). For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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