question: public static long readVLOld ( DataInput in ) throws IOException { byte code = in . readByte ( ) ; long result ; if ( code < 0 ) { result = code & 0x7F ; result <<= 8 ; result |= in . readByte ( ) & 0xFF ; } else if ( code <= MAX_BYTE_VL ) { result = code ; } else if ( code == INT_VL ) { result = in . readInt ( ) ; } else if ( code == LONG_VL ) { result = in . readLong ( ) ; } else { throw new IllegalStateException ( "unexpected variable length code=" + code ) ; } return result ; }
target:  Write a variable length long the old way (pre 7.0). Use this only in contexts where you might need to communicate with pre 7.0 members or files.