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25 
26 package java.util;
27 
28 /**
29  * The <code>Dictionary</code> class is the abstract parent of any
30  * class, such as <code>Hashtable</code>, which maps keys to values.
31  * Every key and every value is an object. In any one <tt>Dictionary</tt>
32  * object, every key is associated with at most one value. Given a
33  * <tt>Dictionary</tt> and a key, the associated element can be looked up.
34  * Any non-<code>null</code> object can be used as a key and as a value.
35  * <p>
36  * As a rule, the <code>equals</code> method should be used by
37  * implementations of this class to decide if two keys are the same.
38  * <p>
39  * <strong>NOTE: This class is obsolete.  New implementations should
40  * implement the Map interface, rather than extending this class.</strong>
41  *
42  * @author  unascribed
43  * @see     java.util.Map
44  * @see     java.lang.Object#equals(java.lang.Object)
45  * @see     java.lang.Object#hashCode()
46  * @see     java.util.Hashtable
47  * @since   JDK1.0
48  */
49 public abstract
50 class Dictionary<K,V> {
51     /**
52      * Sole constructor.  (For invocation by subclass constructors, typically
53      * implicit.)
54      */
Dictionary()55     public Dictionary() {
56     }
57 
58     /**
59      * Returns the number of entries (distinct keys) in this dictionary.
60      *
61      * @return  the number of keys in this dictionary.
62      */
size()63     abstract public int size();
64 
65     /**
66      * Tests if this dictionary maps no keys to value. The general contract
67      * for the <tt>isEmpty</tt> method is that the result is true if and only
68      * if this dictionary contains no entries.
69      *
70      * @return  <code>true</code> if this dictionary maps no keys to values;
71      *          <code>false</code> otherwise.
72      */
isEmpty()73     abstract public boolean isEmpty();
74 
75     /**
76      * Returns an enumeration of the keys in this dictionary. The general
77      * contract for the keys method is that an <tt>Enumeration</tt> object
78      * is returned that will generate all the keys for which this dictionary
79      * contains entries.
80      *
81      * @return  an enumeration of the keys in this dictionary.
82      * @see     java.util.Dictionary#elements()
83      * @see     java.util.Enumeration
84      */
keys()85     abstract public Enumeration<K> keys();
86 
87     /**
88      * Returns an enumeration of the values in this dictionary. The general
89      * contract for the <tt>elements</tt> method is that an
90      * <tt>Enumeration</tt> is returned that will generate all the elements
91      * contained in entries in this dictionary.
92      *
93      * @return  an enumeration of the values in this dictionary.
94      * @see     java.util.Dictionary#keys()
95      * @see     java.util.Enumeration
96      */
elements()97     abstract public Enumeration<V> elements();
98 
99     /**
100      * Returns the value to which the key is mapped in this dictionary.
101      * The general contract for the <tt>isEmpty</tt> method is that if this
102      * dictionary contains an entry for the specified key, the associated
103      * value is returned; otherwise, <tt>null</tt> is returned.
104      *
105      * @return  the value to which the key is mapped in this dictionary;
106      * @param   key   a key in this dictionary.
107      *          <code>null</code> if the key is not mapped to any value in
108      *          this dictionary.
109      * @exception NullPointerException if the <tt>key</tt> is <tt>null</tt>.
110      * @see     java.util.Dictionary#put(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object)
111      */
get(Object key)112     abstract public V get(Object key);
113 
114     /**
115      * Maps the specified <code>key</code> to the specified
116      * <code>value</code> in this dictionary. Neither the key nor the
117      * value can be <code>null</code>.
118      * <p>
119      * If this dictionary already contains an entry for the specified
120      * <tt>key</tt>, the value already in this dictionary for that
121      * <tt>key</tt> is returned, after modifying the entry to contain the
122      *  new element. <p>If this dictionary does not already have an entry
123      *  for the specified <tt>key</tt>, an entry is created for the
124      *  specified <tt>key</tt> and <tt>value</tt>, and <tt>null</tt> is
125      *  returned.
126      * <p>
127      * The <code>value</code> can be retrieved by calling the
128      * <code>get</code> method with a <code>key</code> that is equal to
129      * the original <code>key</code>.
130      *
131      * @param      key     the hashtable key.
132      * @param      value   the value.
133      * @return     the previous value to which the <code>key</code> was mapped
134      *             in this dictionary, or <code>null</code> if the key did not
135      *             have a previous mapping.
136      * @exception  NullPointerException  if the <code>key</code> or
137      *               <code>value</code> is <code>null</code>.
138      * @see        java.lang.Object#equals(java.lang.Object)
139      * @see        java.util.Dictionary#get(java.lang.Object)
140      */
put(K key, V value)141     abstract public V put(K key, V value);
142 
143     /**
144      * Removes the <code>key</code> (and its corresponding
145      * <code>value</code>) from this dictionary. This method does nothing
146      * if the <code>key</code> is not in this dictionary.
147      *
148      * @param   key   the key that needs to be removed.
149      * @return  the value to which the <code>key</code> had been mapped in this
150      *          dictionary, or <code>null</code> if the key did not have a
151      *          mapping.
152      * @exception NullPointerException if <tt>key</tt> is <tt>null</tt>.
153      */
remove(Object key)154     abstract public V remove(Object key);
155 }
156