The AwkStreamInput class is used to look for pattern matches in an
input stream (actually a java.io.Reader instance) in conjunction with
the AwkMatcher class. It is called
AwkStreamInput instead of AwkInputStream to stress that it is a form
of streamed input for the AwkMatcher class to use rather than a subclass of
InputStream.
AwkStreamInput performs special internal buffering to accelerate
pattern searches through a stream. You can determine the size of this
buffer and how it grows by using the appropriate constructor.
If you want to perform line by line
matches on an input stream, you should use a DataInput or BufferedReader
instance in conjunction
with one of the PatternMatcher methods taking a String, char[], or
PatternMatcherInput as an argument. The DataInput and BufferedReader
readLine() methods will likely be implemented as native methods and
therefore more efficient than supporting line by line searching within
AwkStreamInput.
In the future the programmer will be able to set this class to save
all the input it sees so that it can be accessed later. This will avoid
having to read a stream more than once for whatever reason.
If you want to perform line by line matches on an input stream, you should use a DataInput or BufferedReader instance in conjunction with one of the PatternMatcher methods taking a String, char[], or PatternMatcherInput as an argument. The DataInput and BufferedReader readLine() methods will likely be implemented as native methods and therefore more efficient than supporting line by line searching within AwkStreamInput.
In the future the programmer will be able to set this class to save all the input it sees so that it can be accessed later. This will avoid having to read a stream more than once for whatever reason.