IsLinkDead.java

private boolean isLinkDead(String link)
{
	HttpURLConnection connection = null;
	int code;
    	
	try
	{
		URL url=new URL(link);
		connection = (HttpURLConnection)url.openConnection();
		connection.setRequestMethod("GET");
		connection.setInstanceFollowRedirects(true);
		connection.setReadTimeout(10000);
		code = connection.getResponseCode();
		connection.disconnect();
	}
	catch (UnknownHostException e)
	{
		return true; //link is considered dead if host is unknown
	}
	catch (SocketTimeoutException e)
	{
		return false; //link is NOT considered dead if timeout occurred
	}
	catch (Exception e)
	{
		return false; //link is NOT considered dead in case of any other exception
	}
    	
	//link is considered dead if 404 returned
	return (code==404 ? true : false);
}