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All keys inserted into an SortedMap must implement the Comparable interface (or be accepted by the specified Comparator). Furthermore, all such keys must be mutually comparable: k1.compareTo(k2) (or comparator.compare(k1, k2)) must not throw a typeMismatchException for any elements k1 and k2 in the SortedMap. Attempts to violate this restriction will cause the offending method or constructor invocation to throw a ClassCastException.
Note that the ordering maintained by a SortedMap (whether or not an explicit Comparator is provided) must be total if the SortedMap is to correctly implement the Map interface. (See Comparable or Comparator for a definition of total ordering.) This is so because the Map interface is defined in terms of the equals operation, but a SortedMap performs all key comparisons using its compareTo (or compare) method, so two keys that are deemed equal by this method are, from the standpoint of the SortedMap, equal. The behavior of a TreeMap is well-defined even if its ordering is strictly partial; it just fails to obey the general contract of the Map interface.
All general-purpose SortedMap implementation classes should provide four "standard" constructors: 1) A void (no arguments) constructor, which creates an empty SortedMap sorted according to the natural order of its keys. 2) A constructor with a single argument of type Comparator, which creates an empty SortedMap sorted according to the specified Comparator. 3) A constructor with a single argument of type Map, which creates a new Map with the same key-value mappings as its argument, sorted according to the keys' natural ordering. 4) A constructor with a single argument of type SortedMap, which creates a new SortedMap with the same key-value mappings and the same ordering as the input SortedMap. There is no way to enforce this recommendation (as interfaces cannot contain constructors) but the JDK implementation (TreeMap) complies.
public abstract Comparator comparator()
public abstract SortedMap subMap(Object fromKey, Object toKey)
The Map returned by this method will throw an IllegalArgumentException if the user attempts to insert a key outside the specified range.
Note: this method always returns a half-open range (which includes its low endpoint but not its high endpoint). If you need a closed range (which includes both endpoints), and the key type allows for calculation of the successor a given key, merely request the subrange from lowEndpoint to successor(highEndpoint). For example, suppose that m is a Map whose keys are Strings. The following idiom obtains a view containing all of the key-value mappings in m whose keys are between low and high, inclusive:
Map sub = m.subMap(low, high+"\0");A similarly technique can be used to generate an open range (which contains neither endpoint). The following idiom obtains a view containing all of the key-value mappings in m whose keys are between low and high, exclusive:
Map sub = m.subMap(low+"\0", high);
public abstract SortedMap headMap(Object toKey)
The Map returned by this method will throw an IllegalArgumentException if the user attempts to insert a key outside the specified range.
Note: this method always returns a view that does not contain its (high) endpoint. If you need a view that does contain this endpoint, and the key type allows for calculation of the successor a given key, merely request a headMap bounded by successor(highEndpoint). For example, suppose that suppose that m is a Map whose keys are Strings. The following idiom obtains a view containing all of the key-value mappings in m whose keys are less than or equal to high:
Map head = m.headMap(high+"\0");
public abstract SortedMap tailMap(Object fromKey)
The Map returned by this method will throw an IllegalArgumentException if the user attempts to insert a key outside the specified range.
Note: this method always returns a view that contains its (low) endpoint. If you need a view that does not contain this endpoint, and the element type allows for calculation of the successor a given value, merely request a tailMap bounded by successor(lowEndpoint). For For example, suppose that suppose that m is a Map whose keys are Strings. The following idiom obtains a view containing all of the key-value mappings in m whose keys are strictly greater than low:
Map tail = m.tailMap(low+"\0");
public abstract Object firstKey()
public abstract Object lastKey()
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