Editing Java Platform, Standard Edition (section)

=== java.nio ===
{{Main|Non-blocking I/O (Java)}}

In J2SE 1.4, the package {{Javadoc:SE|package=java.nio|java/nio}} (NIO or Non-blocking I/O) was added to support [[memory-mapped I/O]], facilitating [[Input/output|I/O]] operations closer to the underlying hardware with sometimes dramatically better performance.  The <code>java.nio</code> package provides support for a number of buffer types.  The subpackage {{Javadoc:SE|package=java.nio.charset|java/nio/charset}} provides support for different [[character encoding]]s for character data.  The subpackage {{Javadoc:SE|package=java.nio.channels|java/nio/channels}} provides support for ''channels,'' which represent connections to entities that are capable of performing I/O operations, such as files and sockets.  The <code>java.nio.channels</code> package also provides support for fine-grained locking of files.