code: private long parseIpAddressToLong(String address) {
      long result = 0;
      String[] parts = address.split("\\.");
      long shift = 24;
      for (String part : parts) {
        long lpart = Long.parseLong(part);
  
        result |= lpart << shift;
        shift -= 8;
      }
      return result;
    }
docs: ***********************************************************************
  Convert a string representation of a IP to a long.
  
  @param address
  to convert.
  @return the address as long.
  **********************************************************************