code: public static String read( InputStream stream ) throws IOException {
          return stream == null ? "" : read(new InputStreamReader(stream));
      }
docs: Read and return the entire contents of the supplied {@link InputStream}. This method always closes the stream when finished
  reading.
  
  @param stream the streamed contents; may be null
  @return the contents, or an empty string if the supplied stream is null
  @throws IOException if there is an error reading the content