Get Familiar with J2SE 5.0 Collections

Get Familiar with J2SE 5.0 Collections: "Get Familiar with J2SE 5.0 Collections
Although you may be completely at ease with Java collections in previous versions, J2SE 5.0 collections are both simpler and different, requiring less code—but altered programming techniques.

by Jeff Heaton September 8, 2005

The collections API has always been one of the most important aspects of the Java Development Kit (JDK). Nearly every Java program makes use of collection classes such as HashMap, ArrayList, TreeSet and many others, each of which stores data in a variety of ways. Therefore, nearly every Java programmer must have a good understanding of how these classes work and when each is appropriate. But with the release of J2SE 5.0, everything about the way you use these classes has just changed!

The good news is that the learning curve isn't steep. J2SE 5.0 actually simplifies the collections API in many ways. All the changes introduced by J2SE 5.0 require you to create less code than previous versions of Java.

What's New for Collections in J2SE 5.0
This article focuses on new features that affect the collections API. Specifically, the features that this article covers include:

* Generics
* An enhanced For loop
* Autoboxing"