What is the collection
In Java, a collection is an object that represents a group of elements. It provides a way to store, manipulate, and access a collection of objects in a unified manner. The Java Collections Framework provides a set of interfaces and classes that define various types of collections and the operations that can be performed on them.
The key interfaces in the Java Collections Framework are:
1. Collection: It is the root interface that defines the basic methods that all collections should have, such as adding, removing, and querying elements.
2. List: It is an ordered collection that allows duplicate elements. Lists can be accessed by their index and provide operations for adding, removing, and modifying elements at specific positions.
3. Set: It is a collection that does not allow duplicate elements. Sets are often used to represent mathematical sets and provide methods for adding, removing, and testing the presence of elements.
4. Map: It is an object that maps keys to values. Each key in a map must be unique, and it allows retrieval of values based on their associated keys. Maps provide methods to add, remove, and access key-value pairs.
The Java Collections Framework also includes several concrete implementations of these interfaces, such as ArrayList, LinkedList, HashSet, TreeSet, HashMap, and TreeMap. These implementations provide different characteristics in terms of performance, ordering, and uniqueness of elements, allowing you to choose the appropriate collection type based on your specific requirements.
Collections in Java provide a powerful and flexible way to manage groups of objects and are widely used in Java programming for tasks such as data storage, manipulation, sorting, searching, and more.
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