BufferCapabilities (Java Platform SE 8 )
Keywords: java.awt.BufferCapabilities class
Date: 2026-07-22

java.awt

## Class BufferCapabilities

- java.lang.Object
- - java.awt.BufferCapabilities

- All Implemented Interfaces:
    Cloneable

      public class BufferCapabilities
      extends Object
      implements Cloneable

  Capabilities and properties of buffers.
  Since:
    1.4
  See Also:
    `BufferStrategy.getCapabilities()`, `GraphicsConfiguration.getBufferCapabilities()`

- - ### Nested Class Summary

    Nested Classes
    Modifier and Type | Class and Description
    --- | ---
    `static class` | `BufferCapabilities.FlipContents` A type-safe enumeration of the possible back buffer contents after page-flipping

  - ### Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Constructor and Description
    `BufferCapabilities(ImageCapabilities frontCaps, ImageCapabilities backCaps, BufferCapabilities.FlipContents flipContents)` Creates a new object for specifying buffering capabilities

  - ### Method Summary

    All Methods Instance Methods Concrete Methods
    Modifier and Type | Method and Description
    --- | ---
    `Object` | `clone()` Creates and returns a copy of this object.
    `ImageCapabilities` | `getBackBufferCapabilities()`
    `BufferCapabilities.FlipContents` | `getFlipContents()`
    `ImageCapabilities` | `getFrontBufferCapabilities()`
    `boolean` | `isFullScreenRequired()`
    `boolean` | `isMultiBufferAvailable()`
    `boolean` | `isPageFlipping()`

    - ### Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

      `equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait`

- - ### Constructor Detail

    - #### BufferCapabilities

          public BufferCapabilities(ImageCapabilities frontCaps,
                                    ImageCapabilities backCaps,
                                    BufferCapabilities.FlipContents flipContents)

      Creates a new object for specifying buffering capabilities
      Parameters:
        `frontCaps` - the capabilities of the front buffer; cannot be `null`
        `backCaps` - the capabilities of the back and intermediate buffers; cannot be `null`
        `flipContents` - the contents of the back buffer after page-flipping, `null` if page flipping is not used (implies blitting)
      Throws:
        `IllegalArgumentException` - if frontCaps or backCaps are `null`

  - ### Method Detail

    - #### getFrontBufferCapabilities

          public ImageCapabilities getFrontBufferCapabilities()

      Returns:
        the image capabilities of the front (displayed) buffer

    - #### getBackBufferCapabilities

          public ImageCapabilities getBackBufferCapabilities()

      Returns:
        the image capabilities of all back buffers (intermediate buffers are considered back buffers)

    - #### isPageFlipping

          public boolean isPageFlipping()

      Returns:
        whether or not the buffer strategy uses page flipping; a set of buffers that uses page flipping can swap the contents internally between the front buffer and one or more back buffers by switching the video pointer (or by copying memory internally). A non-flipping set of buffers uses blitting to copy the contents from one buffer to another; when this is the case, `getFlipContents` returns `null`

    - #### getFlipContents

          public BufferCapabilities.FlipContents getFlipContents()

      Returns:
        the resulting contents of the back buffer after page-flipping. This value is `null` when the `isPageFlipping` returns `false`, implying blitting. It can be one of `FlipContents.UNDEFINED` (the assumed default), `FlipContents.BACKGROUND`, `FlipContents.PRIOR`, or `FlipContents.COPIED`.
      See Also:
        `isPageFlipping()`, `BufferCapabilities.FlipContents.UNDEFINED`, `BufferCapabilities.FlipContents.BACKGROUND`, `BufferCapabilities.FlipContents.PRIOR`, `BufferCapabilities.FlipContents.COPIED`

    - #### isFullScreenRequired

          public boolean isFullScreenRequired()

      Returns:
        whether page flipping is only available in full-screen mode. If this is `true`, full-screen exclusive mode is required for page-flipping.
      See Also:
        `isPageFlipping()`, `GraphicsDevice.setFullScreenWindow(java.awt.Window)`

    - #### isMultiBufferAvailable

          public boolean isMultiBufferAvailable()

      Returns:
        whether or not page flipping can be performed using more than two buffers (one or more intermediate buffers as well as the front and back buffer).
      See Also:
        `isPageFlipping()`

    - #### clone

          public Object clone()

      Description copied from class: `Object`
      Creates and returns a copy of this object. The precise meaning of "copy" may depend on the class of the object. The general intent is that, for any object `x`, the expression:

      >      x.clone() != x

      will be true, and that the expression:

      >      x.clone().getClass() == x.getClass()

      will be `true`, but these are not absolute requirements. While it is typically the case that:

      >      x.clone().equals(x)

      will be `true`, this is not an absolute requirement.

      By convention, the returned object should be obtained by calling `super.clone`. If a class and all of its superclasses (except `Object`) obey this convention, it will be the case that `x.clone().getClass() == x.getClass()`.

      By convention, the object returned by this method should be independent of this object (which is being cloned). To achieve this independence, it may be necessary to modify one or more fields of the object returned by `super.clone` before returning it. Typically, this means copying any mutable objects that comprise the internal "deep structure" of the object being cloned and replacing the references to these objects with references to the copies. If a class contains only primitive fields or references to immutable objects, then it is usually the case that no fields in the object returned by `super.clone` need to be modified.

      The method `clone` for class `Object` performs a specific cloning operation. First, if the class of this object does not implement the interface `Cloneable`, then a `CloneNotSupportedException` is thrown. Note that all arrays are considered to implement the interface `Cloneable` and that the return type of the `clone` method of an array type `T[]` is `T[]` where T is any reference or primitive type. Otherwise, this method creates a new instance of the class of this object and initializes all its fields with exactly the contents of the corresponding fields of this object, as if by assignment; the contents of the fields are not themselves cloned. Thus, this method performs a "shallow copy" of this object, not a "deep copy" operation.

      The class `Object` does not itself implement the interface `Cloneable`, so calling the `clone` method on an object whose class is `Object` will result in throwing an exception at run time.

      Overrides:
        `clone` in class `Object`
      Returns:
        a copy of this BufferCapabilities object.
      See Also:
        `Cloneable`

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