How to Read a URL\'s Content into a String with Minimal Java Code?

Read Content from URL to String with Minimal Java Code

Reading the content of a URL into a string can be a common task in Java development. To achieve this, an equivalent implementation to Groovy's toURL().getText() is desired without the need for external libraries or complex code.

Apache HttpClient Alternative

While Apache HttpClient provides a robust set of HTTP utilities, it may not offer a concise one or two-line implementation for the task at hand.

Scanner Approach

An effective solution involves utilizing the Scanner class in combination with URL's openStream() method. The following code achieves the desired functionality:

<code class="java">String out = new Scanner(new URL("http://www.google.com").openStream(), "UTF-8").useDelimiter("\A").next();</code>

The Scanner is initialized with the URL's input stream and configured with a delimiter to capture the entire content. By using a one-line approach, the code avoids the overhead of buffered streams and loops.

Fuller Implementation

For a slightly more comprehensive implementation that handles potential exceptions, consider the following method:

<code class="java">public static String readStringFromURL(String requestURL) throws IOException {
    try (Scanner scanner = new Scanner(new URL(requestURL).openStream(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8.toString())) {
        scanner.useDelimiter("\A");
        return scanner.hasNext() ? scanner.next() : "";
    }
}</code>

This method employs a try-with-resources block to automatically close the Scanner and URL streams, ensuring proper resource management. It also includes error handling to catch potential exceptions.

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