|
JavaTM 2 Platform Std. Ed. v1.4.1 |
||||||||||
PREV CLASS NEXT CLASS | FRAMES NO FRAMES | ||||||||||
SUMMARY: NESTED | FIELD | CONSTR | METHOD | DETAIL: FIELD | CONSTR | METHOD |
An object that maps keys to values. A map cannot contain duplicate keys; each key can map to at most one value.
This interface takes the place of the Dictionary class, which was a totally abstract class rather than an interface.
The Map interface provides three collection views, which allow a map's contents to be viewed as a set of keys, collection of values, or set of key-value mappings. The order of a map is defined as the order in which the iterators on the map's collection views return their elements. Some map implementations, like the TreeMap class, make specific guarantees as to their order; others, like the HashMap class, do not.
Note: great care must be exercised if mutable objects are used as map keys. The behavior of a map is not specified if the value of an object is changed in a manner that affects equals comparisons while the object is a key in the map. A special case of this prohibition is that it is not permissible for a map to contain itself as a key. While it is permissible for a map to contain itself as a value, extreme caution is advised: the equals and hashCode methods are no longer well defined on a such a map.
All general-purpose map implementation classes should provide two "standard" constructors: a void (no arguments) constructor which creates an empty map, and a constructor with a single argument of type Map, which creates a new map with the same key-value mappings as its argument. In effect, the latter constructor allows the user to copy any map, producing an equivalent map of the desired class. There is no way to enforce this recommendation (as interfaces cannot contain constructors) but all of the general-purpose map implementations in the SDK comply.
The "destructive" methods contained in this interface, that is, the
methods that modify the map on which they operate, are specified to throw
UnsupportedOperationException if this map does not support the
operation. If this is the case, these methods may, but are not required
to, throw an UnsupportedOperationException if the invocation would
have no effect on the map. For example, invoking the putAll(Map)
method on an unmodifiable map may, but is not required to, throw the
exception if the map whose mappings are to be "superimposed" is empty.
Some map implementations have restrictions on the keys and values they may contain. For example, some implementations prohibit null keys and values, and some have restrictions on the types of their keys. Attempting to insert an ineligible key or value throws an unchecked exception, typically NullPointerException or ClassCastException. Attempting to query the presence of an ineligible key or value may throw an exception, or it may simply return false; some implementations will exhibit the former behavior and some will exhibit the latter. More generally, attempting an operation on an ineligible key or value whose completion would not result in the insertion of an ineligible element into the map may throw an exception or it may succeed, at the option of the implementation. Such exceptions are marked as "optional" in the specification for this interface.
Nested Class Summary | |
static interface |
Map.Entry
A map entry (key-value pair). |
Method Summary | |
void |
clear()
Removes all mappings from this map (optional operation). |
boolean |
containsKey(Object key)
Returns true if this map contains a mapping for the specified key. |
boolean |
containsValue(Object value)
Returns true if this map maps one or more keys to the specified value. |
Set |
entrySet()
Returns a set view of the mappings contained in this map. |
boolean |
equals(Object o)
Compares the specified object with this map for equality. |
Object |
get(Object key)
Returns the value to which this map maps the specified key. |
int |
hashCode()
Returns the hash code value for this map. |
boolean |
isEmpty()
Returns true if this map contains no key-value mappings. |
Set |
keySet()
Returns a set view of the keys contained in this map. |
Object |
put(Object key,
Object value)
Associates the specified value with the specified key in this map (optional operation). |
void |
putAll(Map t)
Copies all of the mappings from the specified map to this map (optional operation). |
Object |
remove(Object key)
Removes the mapping for this key from this map if it is present (optional operation). |
int |
size()
Returns the number of key-value mappings in this map. |
Collection |
values()
Returns a collection view of the values contained in this map. |
Method Detail |
public int size()
public boolean isEmpty()
public boolean containsKey(Object key)
key
- key whose presence in this map is to be tested.
ClassCastException
- if the key is of an inappropriate type for
this map (optional).
NullPointerException
- if the key is null and this map
does not not permit null keys (optional).public boolean containsValue(Object value)
value
- value whose presence in this map is to be tested.
ClassCastException
- if the value is of an inappropriate type for
this map (optional).
NullPointerException
- if the value is null and this map
does not not permit null values (optional).public Object get(Object key)
More formally, if this map contains a mapping from a key k to a value v such that (key==null ? k==null : key.equals(k)), then this method returns v; otherwise it returns null. (There can be at most one such mapping.)
key
- key whose associated value is to be returned.
ClassCastException
- if the key is of an inappropriate type for
this map (optional).
NullPointerException
- key is null and this map does not
not permit null keys (optional).containsKey(Object)
public Object put(Object key, Object value)
m.containsKey(k)
would return
true.))
key
- key with which the specified value is to be associated.value
- value to be associated with the specified key.
UnsupportedOperationException
- if the put operation is
not supported by this map.
ClassCastException
- if the class of the specified key or value
prevents it from being stored in this map.
IllegalArgumentException
- if some aspect of this key or value
prevents it from being stored in this map.
NullPointerException
- this map does not permit null
keys or values, and the specified key or value is
null.public Object remove(Object key)
(key==null ? k==null : key.equals(k))
, that mapping
is removed. (The map can contain at most one such mapping.)
Returns the value to which the map previously associated the key, or null if the map contained no mapping for this key. (A null return can also indicate that the map previously associated null with the specified key if the implementation supports null values.) The map will not contain a mapping for the specified key once the call returns.
key
- key whose mapping is to be removed from the map.
ClassCastException
- if the key is of an inappropriate type for
this map (optional).
NullPointerException
- if the key is null and this map
does not not permit null keys (optional).
UnsupportedOperationException
- if the remove method is
not supported by this map.public void putAll(Map t)
put(k, v)
on this map once
for each mapping from key k to value v in the
specified map. The behavior of this operation is unspecified if the
specified map is modified while the operation is in progress.
t
- Mappings to be stored in this map.
UnsupportedOperationException
- if the putAll method is
not supported by this map.
ClassCastException
- if the class of a key or value in the
specified map prevents it from being stored in this map.
IllegalArgumentException
- some aspect of a key or value in the
specified map prevents it from being stored in this map.
NullPointerException
- the specified map is null, or if
this map does not permit null keys or values, and the
specified map contains null keys or values.public void clear()
UnsupportedOperationException
- clear is not supported by this
map.public Set keySet()
public Collection values()
public Set entrySet()
Map.Entry
. The set is backed by the
map, so changes to the map are reflected in the set, and vice-versa.
If the map is modified while an iteration over the set is in progress,
the results of the iteration are undefined. The set supports element
removal, which removes the corresponding mapping from the map, via the
Iterator.remove, Set.remove, removeAll,
retainAll and clear operations. It does not support
the add or addAll operations.
public boolean equals(Object o)
o
- object to be compared for equality with this map.
public int hashCode()
Map.Entry.hashCode()
,
Object.hashCode()
,
Object.equals(Object)
,
equals(Object)
|
JavaTM 2 Platform Std. Ed. v1.4.1 |
||||||||||
PREV CLASS NEXT CLASS | FRAMES NO FRAMES | ||||||||||
SUMMARY: NESTED | FIELD | CONSTR | METHOD | DETAIL: FIELD | CONSTR | METHOD |
Copyright 2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms.