Package Summary Overview Summary

### class:Dictionary [NONE]
- Direct Known Subclasses: Hashtable
      public abstract class Dictionary<K,V>
      extends Object
The `Dictionary` class is the abstract parent of any class, such as `Hashtable`, which maps keys to values. Every key and every value is an object. In any one `Dictionary` object, every key is associated with at most one value. Given a `Dictionary` and a key, the associated element can be looked up. Any non-`null` object can be used as a key and as a value. As a rule, the `equals` method should be used by implementations of this class to decide if two keys are the same. NOTE: This class is obsolete. New implementations should implement the Map interface, rather than extending this class. Since: 1.0 See Also: `Map`, `Object.equals(java.lang.Object)`, `Object.hashCode()`, `Hashtable`

### constructor:Dictionary() [NONE]
- #### Dictionary
      public Dictionary()
Sole constructor. (For invocation by subclass constructors, typically implicit.)

### method:size() [NONE]
- #### size
      public abstract int size()
Returns the number of entries (distinct keys) in this dictionary. Returns: the number of keys in this dictionary.

### method:isEmpty() [NONE]
- #### isEmpty
      public abstract boolean isEmpty()
Tests if this dictionary maps no keys to value. The general contract for the `isEmpty` method is that the result is true if and only if this dictionary contains no entries. Returns: `true` if this dictionary maps no keys to values; `false` otherwise.

### method:keys() [NONE]
- #### keys
      public abstract Enumeration<K> keys()
Returns an enumeration of the keys in this dictionary. The general contract for the keys method is that an `Enumeration` object is returned that will generate all the keys for which this dictionary contains entries. Returns: an enumeration of the keys in this dictionary. See Also: `elements()`, `Enumeration`

### method:elements() [NONE]
- #### elements
      public abstract Enumeration<V> elements()
Returns an enumeration of the values in this dictionary. The general contract for the `elements` method is that an `Enumeration` is returned that will generate all the elements contained in entries in this dictionary. Returns: an enumeration of the values in this dictionary. See Also: `keys()`, `Enumeration`

### method:get(java.lang.Object) [NONE]
- #### get
      public abstract V get(Object key)
Returns the value to which the key is mapped in this dictionary. The general contract for the `isEmpty` method is that if this dictionary contains an entry for the specified key, the associated value is returned; otherwise, `null` is returned. Parameters: `key` - a key in this dictionary. `null` if the key is not mapped to any value in this dictionary. Returns: the value to which the key is mapped in this dictionary; Throws: `NullPointerException` - if the `key` is `null`. See Also: `put(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object)`

### method:put(K, V) [NONE]
- #### put
      public abstract V put(K key,
                            V value)
Maps the specified `key` to the specified `value` in this dictionary. Neither the key nor the value can be `null`. If this dictionary already contains an entry for the specified `key`, the value already in this dictionary for that `key` is returned, after modifying the entry to contain the new element. If this dictionary does not already have an entry for the specified `key`, an entry is created for the specified `key` and `value`, and `null` is returned. The `value` can be retrieved by calling the `get` method with a `key` that is equal to the original `key`. Parameters: `key` - the hashtable key. `value` - the value. Returns: the previous value to which the `key` was mapped in this dictionary, or `null` if the key did not have a previous mapping. Throws: `NullPointerException` - if the `key` or `value` is `null`. See Also: `Object.equals(java.lang.Object)`, `get(java.lang.Object)`

### method:remove(java.lang.Object) [NONE]
- #### remove
      public abstract V remove(Object key)
Removes the `key` (and its corresponding `value`) from this dictionary. This method does nothing if the `key` is not in this dictionary. Parameters: `key` - the key that needs to be removed. Returns: the value to which the `key` had been mapped in this dictionary, or `null` if the key did not have a mapping. Throws: `NullPointerException` - if `key` is `null`.