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## src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/Collection.java

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    rev 47953 : 8177290: add copy factory methods for unmodifiable List, Set, Map
    8184690: add Collectors for collecting into unmodifiable List, Set, and Map
    Reviewed-by: alanb, briangoetz, dholmes, jrose, rriggs, scolebourne

      37  * implementations of this interface: it provides implementations of more
      38  * specific subinterfaces like {@code Set} and {@code List}.  This interface
      39  * is typically used to pass collections around and manipulate them where
      40  * maximum generality is desired.
      41  *
      42  * <p><i>Bags</i> or <i>multisets</i> (unordered collections that may contain
      43  * duplicate elements) should implement this interface directly.
      44  *
      45  * <p>All general-purpose {@code Collection} implementation classes (which
      46  * typically implement {@code Collection} indirectly through one of its
      47  * subinterfaces) should provide two "standard" constructors: a void (no
      48  * arguments) constructor, which creates an empty collection, and a
      49  * constructor with a single argument of type {@code Collection}, which
      50  * creates a new collection with the same elements as its argument.  In
      51  * effect, the latter constructor allows the user to copy any collection,
      52  * producing an equivalent collection of the desired implementation type.
      53  * There is no way to enforce this convention (as interfaces cannot contain
      54  * constructors) but all of the general-purpose {@code Collection}
      55  * implementations in the Java platform libraries comply.
      56  *
      57  * <p>The "destructive" methods contained in this interface, that is, the
      58  * methods that modify the collection on which they operate, are specified to
      59  * throw {@code UnsupportedOperationException} if this collection does not
      60  * support the operation.  If this is the case, these methods may, but are not
      61  * required to, throw an {@code UnsupportedOperationException} if the
      62  * invocation would have no effect on the collection.  For example, invoking
      63  * the {@link #addAll(Collection)} method on an unmodifiable collection may,
      64  * but is not required to, throw the exception if the collection to be added
      65  * is empty.
      66  *
      67  * <p><a id="optional-restrictions">
      68  * Some collection implementations have restrictions on the elements that
      69  * they may contain.</a>  For example, some implementations prohibit null elements,
      70  * and some have restrictions on the types of their elements.  Attempting to
      71  * add an ineligible element throws an unchecked exception, typically
      72  * {@code NullPointerException} or {@code ClassCastException}.  Attempting
      73  * to query the presence of an ineligible element may throw an exception,
      74  * or it may simply return false; some implementations will exhibit the former
      75  * behavior and some will exhibit the latter.  More generally, attempting an
      76  * operation on an ineligible element whose completion would not result in
      77  * the insertion of an ineligible element into the collection may throw an
      78  * exception or it may succeed, at the option of the implementation.
      79  * Such exceptions are marked as "optional" in the specification for this
      80  * interface.
      81  *
      82  * <p>It is up to each collection to determine its own synchronization
      83  * policy.  In the absence of a stronger guarantee by the
      84  * implementation, undefined behavior may result from the invocation
      85  * of any method on a collection that is being mutated by another
      86  * thread; this includes direct invocations, passing the collection to
      87  * a method that might perform invocations, and using an existing
      88  * iterator to examine the collection.
      89  *
      94  * contains at least one element {@code e} such that
      95  * {@code (o==null ? e==null : o.equals(e))}."  This specification should
      96  * <i>not</i> be construed to imply that invoking {@code Collection.contains}
      97  * with a non-null argument {@code o} will cause {@code o.equals(e)} to be
      98  * invoked for any element {@code e}.  Implementations are free to implement
      99  * optimizations whereby the {@code equals} invocation is avoided, for
     100  * example, by first comparing the hash codes of the two elements.  (The
     101  * {@link Object#hashCode()} specification guarantees that two objects with
     102  * unequal hash codes cannot be equal.)  More generally, implementations of
     103  * the various Collections Framework interfaces are free to take advantage of
     104  * the specified behavior of underlying {@link Object} methods wherever the
     105  * implementor deems it appropriate.
     106  *
     107  * <p>Some collection operations which perform recursive traversal of the
     108  * collection may fail with an exception for self-referential instances where
     109  * the collection directly or indirectly contains itself. This includes the
     110  * {@code clone()}, {@code equals()}, {@code hashCode()} and {@code toString()}
     111  * methods. Implementations may optionally handle the self-referential scenario,
     112  * however most current implementations do not do so.
     113  *

     114  * <p>This interface is a member of the
     115  * <a href="{@docRoot}/java/util/package-summary.html#CollectionsFramework">
     116  * Java Collections Framework</a>.
     117  *
     118  * @implSpec
     119  * The default method implementations (inherited or otherwise) do not apply any
     120  * synchronization protocol.  If a {@code Collection} implementation has a
     121  * specific synchronization protocol, then it must override default
     122  * implementations to apply that protocol.
     123  *
     124  * @param <E> the type of elements in this collection
     125  *
     126  * @author  Josh Bloch
     127  * @author  Neal Gafter
     128  * @see     Set
     129  * @see     List
     130  * @see     Map
     131  * @see     SortedSet
     132  * @see     SortedMap
     133  * @see     HashSet
      37  * implementations of this interface: it provides implementations of more
      38  * specific subinterfaces like {@code Set} and {@code List}.  This interface
      39  * is typically used to pass collections around and manipulate them where
      40  * maximum generality is desired.
      41  *
      42  * <p><i>Bags</i> or <i>multisets</i> (unordered collections that may contain
      43  * duplicate elements) should implement this interface directly.
      44  *
      45  * <p>All general-purpose {@code Collection} implementation classes (which
      46  * typically implement {@code Collection} indirectly through one of its
      47  * subinterfaces) should provide two "standard" constructors: a void (no
      48  * arguments) constructor, which creates an empty collection, and a
      49  * constructor with a single argument of type {@code Collection}, which
      50  * creates a new collection with the same elements as its argument.  In
      51  * effect, the latter constructor allows the user to copy any collection,
      52  * producing an equivalent collection of the desired implementation type.
      53  * There is no way to enforce this convention (as interfaces cannot contain
      54  * constructors) but all of the general-purpose {@code Collection}
      55  * implementations in the Java platform libraries comply.
      56  *
      57  * <p>Certain methods are specified to be
      58  * <i>optional</i>. If a collection implementation doesn't implement a
      59  * particular operation, it should define the corresponding method to throw
      60  * {@code UnsupportedOperationException}. Such methods are marked "optional
      61  * operation" in method specifications of the collections interfaces.
      62  *
      63  * <p><a id="optional-restrictions"></a>Some collection implementations
      64  * have restrictions on the elements that they may contain.
      65  * For example, some implementations prohibit null elements,

      66  * and some have restrictions on the types of their elements.  Attempting to
      67  * add an ineligible element throws an unchecked exception, typically
      68  * {@code NullPointerException} or {@code ClassCastException}.  Attempting
      69  * to query the presence of an ineligible element may throw an exception,
      70  * or it may simply return false; some implementations will exhibit the former
      71  * behavior and some will exhibit the latter.  More generally, attempting an
      72  * operation on an ineligible element whose completion would not result in
      73  * the insertion of an ineligible element into the collection may throw an
      74  * exception or it may succeed, at the option of the implementation.
      75  * Such exceptions are marked as "optional" in the specification for this
      76  * interface.
      77  *
      78  * <p>It is up to each collection to determine its own synchronization
      79  * policy.  In the absence of a stronger guarantee by the
      80  * implementation, undefined behavior may result from the invocation
      81  * of any method on a collection that is being mutated by another
      82  * thread; this includes direct invocations, passing the collection to
      83  * a method that might perform invocations, and using an existing
      84  * iterator to examine the collection.
      85  *
      90  * contains at least one element {@code e} such that
      91  * {@code (o==null ? e==null : o.equals(e))}."  This specification should
      92  * <i>not</i> be construed to imply that invoking {@code Collection.contains}
      93  * with a non-null argument {@code o} will cause {@code o.equals(e)} to be
      94  * invoked for any element {@code e}.  Implementations are free to implement
      95  * optimizations whereby the {@code equals} invocation is avoided, for
      96  * example, by first comparing the hash codes of the two elements.  (The
      97  * {@link Object#hashCode()} specification guarantees that two objects with
      98  * unequal hash codes cannot be equal.)  More generally, implementations of
      99  * the various Collections Framework interfaces are free to take advantage of
     100  * the specified behavior of underlying {@link Object} methods wherever the
     101  * implementor deems it appropriate.
     102  *
     103  * <p>Some collection operations which perform recursive traversal of the
     104  * collection may fail with an exception for self-referential instances where
     105  * the collection directly or indirectly contains itself. This includes the
     106  * {@code clone()}, {@code equals()}, {@code hashCode()} and {@code toString()}
     107  * methods. Implementations may optionally handle the self-referential scenario,
     108  * however most current implementations do not do so.
     109  *
     110  * <h2><a id="view">View Collections</a></h2>
     111  *
     112  * <p>Most collections manage storage for elements they contain. By contrast, <i>view
     113  * collections</i> themselves do not store elements, but instead they rely on a
     114  * backing collection to store the actual elements. Operations that are not handled
     115  * by the view collection itself are delegated to the backing collection. Examples of
     116  * view collections include the wrapper collections returned by methods such as
     117  * {@link Collections#checkedCollection Collections.checkedCollection},
     118  * {@link Collections#synchronizedCollection Collections.synchronizedCollection}, and
     119  * {@link Collections#unmodifiableCollection Collections.unmodifiableCollection}.
     120  * Other examples of view collections include collections that provide a
     121  * different representation of the same elements, for example, as
     122  * provided by {@link List#subList List.subList},
     123  * {@link NavigableSet#subSet NavigableSet.subSet}, or
     124  * {@link Map#entrySet Map.entrySet}.
     125  * Any changes made to the backing collection are visible in the view collection.
     126  * Correspondingly, any changes made to the view collection &mdash; if changes
     127  * are permitted &mdash; are written through to the backing collection.
     128  * Although they technically aren't collections, instances of
     129  * {@link Iterator} and {@link ListIterator} can also allow modifications
     130  * to be written through to the backing collection, and in some cases,
     131  * modifications to the backing collection will be visible to the Iterator
     132  * during iteration.
     133  *
     134  * <h2><a id="unmodifiable">Unmodifiable Collections</a></h2>
     135  *
     136  * <p>Certain methods of this interface are considered "destructive" and are called
     137  * "mutator" methods in that they modify the group of objects contained within
     138  * the collection on which they operate. They can be specified to throw
     139  * {@code UnsupportedOperationException} if this collection implementation
     140  * does not support the operation. Such methods should (but are not required
     141  * to) throw an {@code UnsupportedOperationException} if the invocation would
     142  * have no effect on the collection. For example, consider a collection that
     143  * does not support the {@link #add add} operation. What will happen if the
     144  * {@link #addAll addAll} method is invoked on this collection, with an empty
     145  * collection as the argument? The addition of zero elements has no effect,
     146  * so it is permissible for this collection simply to do nothing and not to throw
     147  * an exception. However, it is recommended that such cases throw an exception
     148  * unconditionally, as throwing only in certain cases can lead to
     149  * programming errors.
     150  *
     151  * <p>An <i>unmodifiable collection</i> is a collection, all of whose
     152  * mutator methods (as defined above) are specified to throw
     153  * {@code UnsupportedOperationException}. Such a collection thus cannot be
     154  * modified by calling any methods on it. For a collection to be properly
     155  * unmodifiable, any view collections derived from it must also be unmodifiable.
     156  * For example, if a List is unmodifiable, the List returned by
     157  * {@link List#subList List.subList} is also unmodifiable.
     158  *
     159  * <p>An unmodifiable collection is not necessarily immutable. If the
     160  * contained elements are mutable, the entire collection is clearly
     161  * mutable, even though it might be unmodifiable. For example, consider
     162  * two unmodifiable lists containing mutable elements. The result of calling
     163  * {@code list1.equals(list2)} might differ from one call to the next if
     164  * the elements had been mutated, even though both lists are unmodifiable.
     165  * However, if an unmodifiable collection contains all immutable elements,
     166  * it can be considered effectively immutable.
     167  *
     168  * <h2><a id="unmodview">Unmodifiable View Collections</a></h2>
     169  *
     170  * <p>An <i>unmodifiable view collection</i> is a collection that is unmodifiable
     171  * and that is also a view onto a backing collection. Its mutator methods throw
     172  * {@code UnsupportedOperationException}, as described above, while
     173  * reading and querying methods are delegated to the backing collection.
     174  * The effect is to provide read-only access to the backing collection.
     175  * This is useful for a component to provide users with read access to
     176  * an internal collection, while preventing them from modifying such
     177  * collections unexpectedly. Examples of unmodifiable view collections
     178  * are those returned by the
     179  * {@link Collections#unmodifiableCollection Collections.unmodifiableCollection},
     180  * {@link Collections#unmodifiableList Collections.unmodifiableList}, and
     181  * related methods.
     182  *
     183  * <p>Note that changes to the backing collection might still be possible,
     184  * and if they occur, they are visible through the unmodifiable view. Thus,
     185  * an unmodifiable view collection is not necessarily immutable. However,
     186  * if the backing collection of an unmodifiable view is effectively immutable,
     187  * or if the only reference to the backing collection is through an
     188  * unmodifiable view, the view can be considered effectively immutable.
     189  *
     190  * <p>This interface is a member of the
     191  * <a href="{@docRoot}/java/util/package-summary.html#CollectionsFramework">
     192  * Java Collections Framework</a>.
     193  *
     194  * @implSpec
     195  * The default method implementations (inherited or otherwise) do not apply any
     196  * synchronization protocol.  If a {@code Collection} implementation has a
     197  * specific synchronization protocol, then it must override default
     198  * implementations to apply that protocol.
     199  *
     200  * @param <E> the type of elements in this collection
     201  *
     202  * @author  Josh Bloch
     203  * @author  Neal Gafter
     204  * @see     Set
     205  * @see     List
     206  * @see     Map
     207  * @see     SortedSet
     208  * @see     SortedMap
     209  * @see     HashSet

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