Hello everyone. Let me preface this post with a single caution. I am a total beginner when it comes to Java. I have been programming PHP on and off for a while, but I was ready to make a desktop application, so I decided to go with Java for various reasons.
The application I am working on is in the beginning stages (less than 5 classes) and I need to read bytes from a local file. Typically, the files are currently less than 512kb (but may get larger in the future). Currently, I am using a FileInputStream to read the file into three byte arrays, which perfectly satisfies my requirements. However, I have seen a BufferedInputStream mentioned, and was wondering if the way I am currently doing this is best, or if I should use a BufferedInputStream as well.
I have done some research and have read a few questions here on Stack Overflow, but I am still having troubles understanding the best situation for when to use and not use the BufferedInputStream. In my situation, the first array I read bytes into is only a few bytes (less than 20). If the data I receive is good in these bytes, then I read the rest of the file into two more byte arrays of varying size.
I have also heard many people mention profiling to see which is more efficient in each specific case, however, I have no profiling experience and I'm not really sure where to start. I would love some suggestions on this as well.
I'm sorry for such a long post, but I really want to learn and understand the best way to do these things. I always have a bad habit of second guessing my decisions, so I would love some feedback. Thanks!