Java RandomAccessFile vs. DataInputStream for byte operations

Question

I need to read bytes from a file.
Is there a difference (e.g. efficiency, memory, runtime, complexity and inelegance of code) between using RandomAccessFile

Answer 1

DataInputStream/DataOutputStream is totally fine if you only need to read/write it sequentally.

If you need random access (like to an array of bytes) - use RandomAccessFile.

I don't think there is any significant difference between them in terms of memory consumption etc. as they are just mediators between JVM and OS.

Answer 2

If you are only doing sequential access, by themselves they are essentially equivalent; however a DataInputStream around a BufferedInputStream around a FileInputStream will be considerably more efficient than a RandomAccessFile.