How to set X-Api-Key in the header of HTTP get request

Question

How can i set an x-api-key with the apikey in the header of a HTTP get request. I have tried something but it seems it doesnt work. Here is my code:

    private static String download(String theUrl)
    {
        try {
            URL url = new URL(theUrl);

            URLConnection ucon = url.openConnection();

            ucon.addRequestProperty("x-api-key", apiKey);

            InputStream is = ucon.getInputStream();
            BufferedInputStream bis = new BufferedInputStream(is);

            ByteArrayBuffer baf = new ByteArrayBuffer(50);

            int current;
            while ((current = bis.read()) != -1)
            {
                baf.append((byte) current);
            }

            return new String (baf.toByteArray());
        } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        return "";
    }

EDIT: Changed the code with the answer below but still getting an error message: it couldn't instantiate the type HttpURLConnection(url). I have changed it but now i have to override 3 methods (below)

private static String download(String theUrl)
    {
        try {
            URL url = new URL(theUrl);

            URLConnection ucon = new HttpURLConnection(url) {

                @Override
                public void connect() throws IOException {
                    // TODO Auto-generated method stub

                }

                @Override
                public boolean usingProxy() {
                    // TODO Auto-generated method stub
                    return false;
                }

                @Override
                public void disconnect() {
                    // TODO Auto-generated method stub

                }
            };
            ucon.addRequestProperty("x-api-key", apiKey);
            ucon.connect();

            InputStream is = ucon.getInputStream();
            BufferedInputStream bis = new BufferedInputStream(is);

            ByteArrayBuffer baf = new ByteArrayBuffer(50);

            int current;
            while ((current = bis.read()) != -1)
            {
                baf.append((byte) current);
            }

            return new String (baf.toByteArray());
        } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        return "";
    }

Answer 1

Instead of using a URLConnection, you should be using an HttpClient to make a request.

A simple example might look like this:

HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient();
HttpGet request = new HttpGet(theUrl);
request.addHeader("x-api-key", apiKey);
HttpResponse response = httpclient.execute(request);