Note: this version is based upon the final (FCS) version
of the Collection APIs from Java2 (1.2.0) and is the final
version of this package that corresponds to those Java2
APIs.
1. Introduction.
As part of the Java Development Kit Software Version 1.2 (java 2)
a significant number of new API's have been added to provide a richer
set of abstract data types for modelling "collections" of Objects.
As part of the InfoBus 1.1 specification effort we at Java Software
identified a need for these API's for use in the standard exchange
of DataItem's between InfoBus Producers and Consumers. But since
Infobus 1.1 is targeted at a JDK1.1 base platform we could not
use these API's unchanged from JDK1.2.
In particular these API's could not be distributed in their 1.2
package (java.util) since all the popular browsers prohibit the
downloading of classes packaged in either the java. or sun.
packahe hierarchies, and since it is not possible to re-release the
JDK1.1 with these classes in their current JDK1.2 package, the only
alternative was to re-package them for use in a standard JDK1.1.x
environment.
1.1 Applications are free to use these APIs' in accordance with the attached license. However 1.2 (Java2) based Applications are
required to use the java.util.* types in order to be compliant.
2. Contents.
This package contants the following classes/interfaces from JDK1.2:
java.util.AbstractCollection
java.util.AbstractList
java.util.AbstractMap
java.util.AbstractSequentialList
java.util.AbstractSet
java.util.ArrayList
java.util.Arrays
java.util.Collection
java.util.Collections
java.util.Comparator
java.util.ConcurrentModificationException
java.util.HashMap
java.util.HashSet
java.util.Hashtable
java.util.Iterator
java.util.LinkedList
java.util.List
java.util.ListIterator
java.util.Map
java.util.NoSuchElementException
java.util.Random
java.util.Set
java.util.SortedMap
java.util.SortedSet
java.util.TreeMap
java.util.TreeSet
java.util.Vector
java.lang.Comparable
java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException
3. Repackaging.
This package was mechanically constructed from the JDK1.2 source for
the Collections API's using a sed script to substitute the new
package name (com.sun.java.util.collections) for the existing JDK1.2
package name(s) (java.util and java.lang). Therefore they are bug for
bug compatible!!!
4. Installation/Use.
Application wishing to use the Collections API's should add the
collections.zip archive to their CLASSPATH. In addition, Applets or
Applications that are packaged as jar files, or in web pages should
reference or include the collections.zip archive in their packaging
or CODEBASE to ensure that the implementation is available upon
download into the browser environment.
5. Compatibility with JDK1.2.
Since these classes are direct copies of their 1.2 counterparts with
the package names changed, the API's are 100% identical with the one
significant exception that since they are in different packages they
are distinct Java types and cannot be cast/assigned between each
other.
However source code using the 1.1 API's should be easily (mechanically)
ported to use the JDK1.2 counterparts if required.
6. Licensing.
See associated license for details.
Joshua Bloch,
Larry Cable.
Java Software, January 1999.
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