Parting Thoughts on Collections - java.util

Parting Thoughts on Collections

The Collections Framework gives you, the programmer, a powerful set of well-engineered solutions to some of programming’s most common tasks. Consider using a collection the next time that you need to store and retrieve information. Remember, collections need not be reserved for only the “large jobs,” such as corporate databases, mailing lists, or inventory systems. They are also effective when applied to smaller jobs. For example, a TreeMap might make an excellent collection to hold the directory structure of a set of files. A TreeSet could be quite useful for storing project-management information. Frankly, the types of problems that will benefit from a collections-based solution are limited only by your imagination. One last point: In Chapter 29, the new stream API is discussed. Because streams are now integrated with collections, consider using a stream when operating on a collection.