How do I tell if the end user has a sound card in Java?

Question

I think the title says it all. My Java program uses sound and I would like to do a check at startup rather than catch an exception. If it helps I am using FreeTTS - https://freetts.sourceforge.io/ .

Answer 1

You can query the java AudioSystem class for available lines:

/**
 * Gets a list of all audio output devices in the system
 */
public static List<Mixer> getAvailableAudioOutputDevices() {
    final ArrayList<Mixer> available = new ArrayList<>();
    final Mixer.Info[] devices = AudioSystem.getMixerInfo();
    final Line.Info sourceInfo = new Line.Info(SourceDataLine.class);
    for (int i=0; i<devices.length; ++i) {
        final Mixer.Info mixerInfo = devices[i];
        final Mixer mixer = AudioSystem.getMixer(mixerInfo);
        if (mixer.isLineSupported(sourceInfo)) {
            // the device supports output, add as suitable
            available.add(mixer);
        }
    }
    return available;
}

Do note that this does not expliclity identify sound cards, but devices that provide audio output. Thats not necessarily the same.