Android APIs
public final class

System

extends Object
java.lang.Object
   ↳ java.lang.System

Class Overview

Provides access to system-related information and resources including standard input and output. Enables clients to dynamically load native libraries. All methods of this class are accessed in a static way and the class itself can not be instantiated.

See Also

Summary

Fields
public static final PrintStream err Default error output stream.
public static final InputStream in Default input stream.
public static final PrintStream out Default output stream.
Public Methods
static void arraycopy(Object src, int srcPos, Object dst, int dstPos, int length)
Copies length elements from the array src, starting at offset srcPos, into the array dst, starting at offset dstPos.
static String clearProperty(String name)
Removes a specific system property.
static Console console()
Returns the Console associated with this VM, or null.
static long currentTimeMillis()
Returns the current time in milliseconds since January 1, 1970 00:00:00.0 UTC.
static void exit(int code)
Causes the VM to stop running and the program to exit with the given exit status.
static void gc()
Indicates to the VM that it would be a good time to run the garbage collector.
static Properties getProperties()
Returns the system properties.
static String getProperty(String propertyName)
Returns the value of a particular system property or null if no such property exists.
static String getProperty(String name, String defaultValue)
Returns the value of a particular system property.
static SecurityManager getSecurityManager()
Returns null.
static String getenv(String name)
Returns the value of the environment variable with the given name, or null if no such variable exists.
static Map<StringString> getenv()
Returns an unmodifiable map of all environment variables to their values.
static int identityHashCode(Object anObject)
Returns an integer hash code for the parameter.
static Channel inheritedChannel()
Returns the inherited channel from the creator of the current virtual machine.
static String lineSeparator()
Returns the system's line separator.
static void load(String pathName)
static void loadLibrary(String libName)
static String mapLibraryName(String nickname)
Returns the platform specific file name format for the shared library named by the argument.
static long nanoTime()
Returns the current timestamp of the most precise timer available on the local system, in nanoseconds.
static void runFinalization()
Provides a hint to the VM that it would be useful to attempt to perform any outstanding object finalization.
static void runFinalizersOnExit(boolean flag)
This method was deprecated in API level 1. This method is unsafe.
static void setErr(PrintStream newErr)
Sets the standard error output stream to the given user defined output stream.
static void setIn(InputStream newIn)
Sets the standard input stream to the given user defined input stream.
static void setOut(PrintStream newOut)
Sets the standard output stream to the given user defined output stream.
static void setProperties(Properties p)
Attempts to set all system properties.
static String setProperty(String name, String value)
Sets the value of a particular system property.
static void setSecurityManager(SecurityManager sm)
Throws SecurityException.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object

Fields

public static final PrintStream err

Added in API level 1

Default error output stream.

public static final InputStream in

Added in API level 1

Default input stream.

public static final PrintStream out

Added in API level 1

Default output stream.

Public Methods

public static void arraycopy (Object src, int srcPos, Object dst, int dstPos, int length)

Added in API level 1

Copies length elements from the array src, starting at offset srcPos, into the array dst, starting at offset dstPos.

The source and destination arrays can be the same array, in which case copying is performed as if the source elements are first copied into a temporary array and then into the destination array.

Parameters
src the source array to copy the content.
srcPos the starting index of the content in src.
dst the destination array to copy the data into.
dstPos the starting index for the copied content in dst.
length the number of elements to be copied.

public static String clearProperty (String name)

Added in API level 1

Removes a specific system property. Most system properties are read only and cannot be cleared or modified. See getProperty(String) for a list of such properties.

Returns
  • the property value or null if the property didn't exist.
Throws
NullPointerException if the argument is null.
IllegalArgumentException if the argument is empty.

public static Console console ()

Added in API level 9

Returns the Console associated with this VM, or null. Not all VMs will have an associated console. A console is typically only available for programs run from the command line.

public static long currentTimeMillis ()

Added in API level 1

Returns the current time in milliseconds since January 1, 1970 00:00:00.0 UTC.

This method always returns UTC times, regardless of the system's time zone. This is often called "Unix time" or "epoch time". Use a DateFormat instance to format this time for display to a human.

This method shouldn't be used for measuring timeouts or other elapsed time measurements, as changing the system time can affect the results. Use nanoTime() for that.

public static void exit (int code)

Added in API level 1

Causes the VM to stop running and the program to exit with the given exit status. If runFinalizersOnExit(boolean) has been previously invoked with a true argument, then all objects will be properly garbage-collected and finalized first.

public static void gc ()

Added in API level 1

Indicates to the VM that it would be a good time to run the garbage collector. Note that this is a hint only. There is no guarantee that the garbage collector will actually be run.

public static Properties getProperties ()

Added in API level 1

Returns the system properties. Note that this is not a copy, so that changes made to the returned Properties object will be reflected in subsequent calls to getProperty and getProperties.

Returns
  • the system properties.

public static String getProperty (String propertyName)

Added in API level 1

Returns the value of a particular system property or null if no such property exists.

The following properties are always provided by the Dalvik VM:

Name Meaning Example
file.separator separator /
java.class.path System class path .
java.class.version (Not useful on Android) 50.0
java.compiler (Not useful on Android) Empty
java.ext.dirs (Not useful on Android) Empty
java.home Location of the VM on the file system /system
java.io.tmpdir See createTempFile(String, String) /sdcard
java.library.path Search path for JNI libraries /vendor/lib:/system/lib
java.vendor Human-readable VM vendor The Android Project
java.vendor.url URL for VM vendor's web site http://www.android.com/
java.version (Not useful on Android) 0
java.specification.version VM libraries version 0.9
java.specification.vendor VM libraries vendor The Android Project
java.specification.name VM libraries name Dalvik Core Library
java.vm.version VM implementation version 1.2.0
java.vm.vendor VM implementation vendor The Android Project
java.vm.name VM implementation name Dalvik
java.vm.specification.version VM specification version 0.9
java.vm.specification.vendor VM specification vendor The Android Project
java.vm.specification.name VM specification name Dalvik Virtual Machine Specification
line.separator The system line separator \n
os.arch OS architecture armv7l
os.name OS (kernel) name Linux
os.version OS (kernel) version 2.6.32.9-g103d848
path.separator See pathSeparator :
user.dir Base of non-absolute paths /
user.home (Not useful on Android) Empty
user.name (Not useful on Android) Empty

All of the above properties except for user.home and java.io.tmpdir cannot be modified. Any attempt to change them will be a no-op.

Parameters
propertyName the name of the system property to look up.
Returns
  • the value of the specified system property or null if the property doesn't exist.

public static String getProperty (String name, String defaultValue)

Added in API level 1

Returns the value of a particular system property. The defaultValue will be returned if no such property has been found.

public static SecurityManager getSecurityManager ()

Added in API level 1

Returns null. Android does not use SecurityManager. This method is only provided for source compatibility.

Returns
  • null

public static String getenv (String name)

Added in API level 1

Returns the value of the environment variable with the given name, or null if no such variable exists.

public static Map<StringString> getenv ()

Added in API level 1

Returns an unmodifiable map of all environment variables to their values.

public static int identityHashCode (Object anObject)

Added in API level 1

Returns an integer hash code for the parameter. The hash code returned is the same one that would be returned by the method java.lang.Object.hashCode(), whether or not the object's class has overridden hashCode(). The hash code for null is 0.

Parameters
anObject the object to calculate the hash code.
Returns
  • the hash code for the given object.
See Also

public static Channel inheritedChannel ()

Added in API level 1

Returns the inherited channel from the creator of the current virtual machine.

Returns
  • the inherited Channel or null if none exists.
Throws
IOException if an I/O error occurred.

public static String lineSeparator ()

Added in API level 19

Returns the system's line separator. On Android, this is "\n". The value comes from the value of the line.separator system property when the VM starts. Later changes to the property will not affect the value returned by this method.

public static void load (String pathName)

Added in API level 1

public static void loadLibrary (String libName)

Added in API level 1

public static String mapLibraryName (String nickname)

Added in API level 1

Returns the platform specific file name format for the shared library named by the argument. On Android, this would turn "MyLibrary" into "libMyLibrary.so".

public static long nanoTime ()

Added in API level 1

Returns the current timestamp of the most precise timer available on the local system, in nanoseconds. Equivalent to Linux's CLOCK_MONOTONIC.

This timestamp should only be used to measure a duration by comparing it against another timestamp on the same device. Values returned by this method do not have a defined correspondence to wall clock times; the zero value is typically whenever the device last booted. Use currentTimeMillis() if you want to know what time it is.

public static void runFinalization ()

Added in API level 1

Provides a hint to the VM that it would be useful to attempt to perform any outstanding object finalization.

public static void runFinalizersOnExit (boolean flag)

Added in API level 1

This method was deprecated in API level 1.
This method is unsafe.

Ensures that, when the VM is about to exit, all objects are finalized. Note that all finalization which occurs when the system is exiting is performed after all running threads have been terminated.

Parameters
flag the flag determines if finalization on exit is enabled.

public static void setErr (PrintStream newErr)

Added in API level 1

Sets the standard error output stream to the given user defined output stream.

Parameters
newErr the user defined output stream to set as the standard error output stream.

public static void setIn (InputStream newIn)

Added in API level 1

Sets the standard input stream to the given user defined input stream.

Parameters
newIn the user defined input stream to set as the standard input stream.

public static void setOut (PrintStream newOut)

Added in API level 1

Sets the standard output stream to the given user defined output stream.

Parameters
newOut the user defined output stream to set as the standard output stream.

public static void setProperties (Properties p)

Added in API level 1

Attempts to set all system properties. Copies all properties from p and discards system properties that are read only and cannot be modified. See getProperty(String) for a list of such properties.

public static String setProperty (String name, String value)

Added in API level 1

Sets the value of a particular system property. Most system properties are read only and cannot be cleared or modified. See getProperty(String) for a list of such properties.

Returns
  • the old value of the property or null if the property didn't exist.

public static void setSecurityManager (SecurityManager sm)

Added in API level 1

Throws SecurityException.

Security managers do not provide a secure environment for executing untrusted code and are unsupported on Android. Untrusted code cannot be safely isolated within a single VM on Android, so this method always throws a SecurityException.

Parameters
sm a security manager
Throws
SecurityException always