com.google.common.collect
Interface ListMultimap<K,V>

All Superinterfaces:
Multimap<K,V>
All Known Implementing Classes:
ArrayListMultimap, ForwardingListMultimap, ImmutableListMultimap, LinkedListMultimap

@GwtCompatible
public interface ListMultimap<K,V>
extends Multimap<K,V>

A Multimap that can hold duplicate key-value pairs and that maintains the insertion ordering of values for a given key.

The get(K), removeAll(java.lang.Object), and replaceValues(K, java.lang.Iterable) methods each return a List of values. Though the method signature doesn't say so explicitly, the map returned by asMap() has List values.

Since:
2 (imported from Google Collections Library)
Author:
Jared Levy

Method Summary
 Map<K,Collection<V>> asMap()
          Returns a map view that associates each key with the corresponding values in the multimap.
 boolean equals(Object obj)
          Compares the specified object to this multimap for equality.
 List<V> get(K key)
          Returns a collection view of all values associated with a key.
 List<V> removeAll(Object key)
          Removes all values associated with a given key.
 List<V> replaceValues(K key, Iterable<? extends V> values)
          Stores a collection of values with the same key, replacing any existing values for that key.
 
Methods inherited from interface com.google.common.collect.Multimap
clear, containsEntry, containsKey, containsValue, entries, hashCode, isEmpty, keys, keySet, put, putAll, putAll, remove, size, values
 

Method Detail

get

List<V> get(@Nullable
            K key)
Returns a collection view of all values associated with a key. If no mappings in the multimap have the provided key, an empty collection is returned.

Changes to the returned collection will update the underlying multimap, and vice versa.

Because the values for a given key may have duplicates and follow the insertion ordering, this method returns a List, instead of the Collection specified in the Multimap interface.

Specified by:
get in interface Multimap<K,V>
Parameters:
key - key to search for in multimap
Returns:
the collection of values that the key maps to

removeAll

List<V> removeAll(@Nullable
                  Object key)
Removes all values associated with a given key.

Because the values for a given key may have duplicates and follow the insertion ordering, this method returns a List, instead of the Collection specified in the Multimap interface.

Specified by:
removeAll in interface Multimap<K,V>
Parameters:
key - key of entries to remove from the multimap
Returns:
the collection of removed values, or an empty collection if no values were associated with the provided key. The collection may be modifiable, but updating it will have no effect on the multimap.

replaceValues

List<V> replaceValues(K key,
                      Iterable<? extends V> values)
Stores a collection of values with the same key, replacing any existing values for that key.

Because the values for a given key may have duplicates and follow the insertion ordering, this method returns a List, instead of the Collection specified in the Multimap interface.

Specified by:
replaceValues in interface Multimap<K,V>
Parameters:
key - key to store in the multimap
values - values to store in the multimap
Returns:
the collection of replaced values, or an empty collection if no values were previously associated with the key. The collection may be modifiable, but updating it will have no effect on the multimap.

asMap

Map<K,Collection<V>> asMap()
Returns a map view that associates each key with the corresponding values in the multimap. Changes to the returned map, such as element removal, will update the underlying multimap. The map does not support setValue() on its entries, put, or putAll.

When passed a key that is present in the map, asMap().get(Object) has the same behavior as Multimap.get(K), returning a live collection. When passed a key that is not present, however, asMap().get(Object) returns null instead of an empty collection.

Though the method signature doesn't say so explicitly, the returned map has List values.

Specified by:
asMap in interface Multimap<K,V>
Returns:
a map view from a key to its collection of values

equals

boolean equals(@Nullable
               Object obj)
Compares the specified object to this multimap for equality.

Two ListMultimap instances are equal if, for each key, they contain the same values in the same order. If the value orderings disagree, the multimaps will not be considered equal.

Specified by:
equals in interface Multimap<K,V>
Overrides:
equals in class Object
Parameters:
obj - the reference object with which to compare.
Returns:
true if this object is the same as the obj argument; false otherwise.
See Also:
Object.hashCode(), Hashtable