java.util
Class WeakHashMap
java.lang.Object
|
+--java.util.AbstractMap
|
+--java.util.WeakHashMap
All Implemented Interfaces:
Map, Map
A weak hash map has only weak references to the key. This means that it
allows the key to be garbage collected if it is not used otherwise. If
this happens, the entry will eventually disappear from the map,
asynchronously.
A weak hash map makes most sense when the keys doesn't override the
equals
method: If there is no other reference to the
key nobody can ever look up the key in this table and so the entry
can be removed. This table also works when the equals
method is overloaded, such as String keys, but you should be prepared
to deal with some entries disappearing spontaneously.
Other strange behaviors to be aware of: The size of this map may
spontaneously shrink (even if you use a synchronized map and synchronize
it); it behaves as if another thread removes entries from this table
without synchronization. The entry set returned by entrySet
has similar phenomenons: The size may spontaneously shrink, or an
entry, that was in the set before, suddenly disappears.
A weak hash map is not meant for caches; use a normal map, with
soft references as values instead, or try LinkedHashMap.
The weak hash map supports null values and null keys. The null key
is never deleted from the map (except explictly of course). The
performance of the methods are similar to that of a hash map.
The value objects are strongly referenced by this table. So if a
value object maintains a strong reference to the key (either direct
or indirect) the key will never be removed from this map. According
to Sun, this problem may be fixed in a future release. It is not
possible to do it with the jdk 1.2 reference model, though.
Since:Authors:- Jochen Hoenicke
- Eric Blake (ebb9@email.byu.edu)
See Also:
WeakHashMap
public WeakHashMap()
Creates a new weak hash map with default load factor and default
capacity.
WeakHashMap
public WeakHashMap(int initialCapacity)
Creates a new weak hash map with default load factor and the given
capacity.
Parameters:
Throws:
WeakHashMap
public WeakHashMap(int initialCapacity, float loadFactor)
Creates a new weak hash map with the given initial capacity and
load factor.
Parameters:
Throws:
WeakHashMap
public WeakHashMap(java.util.Map m)
Construct a new WeakHashMap with the same mappings as the given map.
The WeakHashMap has a default load factor of 0.75.
Since:Parameters:
Throws:
clear
public void clear()
Clears all entries from this map.
containsKey
public boolean containsKey(java.lang.Object key)
Tells if the map contains the given key. Note that the result
may change spontanously, if the key was only weakly
reachable.
Parameters:
Returns:
- true, iff the map contains an entry for the given key.
containsValue
public boolean containsValue(java.lang.Object value)
Returns true if the map contains at least one key which points to
the specified object as a value. Note that the result
may change spontanously, if its key was only weakly reachable.
Parameters:
Returns:
- true if it is found in the set.
entrySet
public Set entrySet()
Returns a set representation of the entries in this map. This
set will not have strong references to the keys, so they can be
silently removed. The returned set has therefore the same
strange behaviour (shrinking size(), disappearing entries) as
this weak hash map.
Returns:
- a set representation of the entries.
get
public Object get(java.lang.Object key)
Gets the value the key is mapped to.
Parameters:
Returns:
- the value the key was mapped to. It returns null if
the key wasn't in this map, or if the mapped value was
explicitly set to null.
isEmpty
public boolean isEmpty()
Tells if the map is empty. Note that the result may change
spontanously, if all of the keys were only weakly reachable.
Returns:
- true, iff the map is empty.
keySet
public Set keySet()
Returns a set representation of the keys in this map. This
set will not have strong references to the keys, so they can be
silently removed. The returned set has therefore the same
strange behaviour (shrinking size(), disappearing entries) as
this weak hash map.
Returns:
- a set representation of the keys.
put
public Object put(java.lang.Object key, java.lang.Object value)
Adds a new key/value mapping to this map.
Parameters:
Returns:
- the value the key was mapped to previously. It returns
null if the key wasn't in this map, or if the mapped value
was explicitly set to null.
putAll
public void putAll(java.util.Map m)
Puts all of the mappings from the given map into this one. If the
key already exists in this map, its value is replaced.
Parameters:
remove
public Object remove(java.lang.Object key)
Removes the key and the corresponding value from this map.
Parameters:
Returns:
- the value the key was mapped to previously. It returns
null if the key wasn't in this map, or if the mapped value was
explicitly set to null.
size
public int size()
Returns the size of this hash map. Note that the size() may shrink
spontaneously, if the some of the keys were only weakly reachable.
Returns:
- the number of entries in this hash map.
values
public Collection values()
Returns a collection representation of the values in this map. This
collection will not have strong references to the keys, so mappings
can be silently removed. The returned collection has therefore the same
strange behaviour (shrinking size(), disappearing entries) as
this weak hash map.
Returns:
- a collection representation of the values.
A weak hash map makes most sense when the keys doesn't override the
equals
method: If there is no other reference to the key nobody can ever look up the key in this table and so the entry can be removed. This table also works when theequals
method is overloaded, such as String keys, but you should be prepared to deal with some entries disappearing spontaneously.Other strange behaviors to be aware of: The size of this map may spontaneously shrink (even if you use a synchronized map and synchronize it); it behaves as if another thread removes entries from this table without synchronization. The entry set returned by
entrySet
has similar phenomenons: The size may spontaneously shrink, or an entry, that was in the set before, suddenly disappears.A weak hash map is not meant for caches; use a normal map, with soft references as values instead, or try LinkedHashMap.
The weak hash map supports null values and null keys. The null key is never deleted from the map (except explictly of course). The performance of the methods are similar to that of a hash map.
The value objects are strongly referenced by this table. So if a value object maintains a strong reference to the key (either direct or indirect) the key will never be removed from this map. According to Sun, this problem may be fixed in a future release. It is not possible to do it with the jdk 1.2 reference model, though.