Method Detail

• size

  int size()

  Gets the total size of the map.

  Implementations would return the total size of the map which is the count of the values from all keys.

  Returns:

  the total size of the map

• isEmpty

  boolean isEmpty()

  Returns true if this map contains no key-value mappings.

  Returns:

  true if this map contains no key-value mappings

• containsKey

  boolean containsKey(Object key)

  Returns true if this map contains a mapping for the specified key. More formally, returns true if and only if this map contains a mapping for a key k such that (key==null ? k==null : key.equals(k)). (There can be at most one such mapping.)

  Parameters:

  key - key whose presence in this map is to be tested

  Returns:

  true if this map contains a mapping for the specified key

  Throws:

  NullPointerException - if the specified key is null and this map does not permit null keys (optional)

• containsValue

  boolean containsValue(Object value)

  Checks whether the map contains at least one mapping for the specified value.

  Parameters:

  value - the value to search for

  Returns:

  true if the map contains the value

  Throws:

  NullPointerException - if the value is null and null values are not supported by the used collection types (optional)

• containsMapping

  boolean containsMapping(Object key,
                          Object value)

  Checks whether the map contains a mapping for the specified key and value.

  Parameters:

  key - the key to search for

  value - the value to search for

  Returns:

  true if the map contains the value

• get

  Collection<V> get(K key)

  Returns a view collection of the values associated with the specified key.

  This method will return an empty collection if containsKey(Object) returns false. Changes to the returned collection will update the underlying MultiValuedMap and vice-versa.

  Parameters:

  key - the key to retrieve

  Returns:

  the Collection of values, implementations should return an empty collection for no mapping

  Throws:

  NullPointerException - if the key is null and null keys are invalid (optional)

• put

  boolean put(K key,
              V value)

  Adds a key-value mapping to this multi-valued map.

  Unlike a normal Map the previous value is not replaced. Instead the new value is added to the collection stored against the key. Depending on the collection type used, duplicate key-value mappings may be allowed.

  The method will return true if the size of the multi-valued map has been increased because of this operation.

  Parameters:

  key - the key to store against

  value - the value to add to the collection at the key

  Returns:

  true if the map changed as a result of this put operation, or false if the map already contained the key-value mapping and the collection type does not allow duplicate values, e.g. when using a Set

  Throws:

  UnsupportedOperationException - if the put operation is not supported by this multi-valued map, e.g. if it is unmodifiable

  NullPointerException - if the key or value is null and null is invalid (optional)

  IllegalArgumentException - if some aspect of the specified key or value prevents it from being stored in this multi-valued map

• putAll

  boolean putAll(K key,
                 Iterable<? extends V> values)

  Adds a mapping to the specified key for all values contained in the given Iterable.

  Parameters:

  key - the key to store against

  values - the values to add to the collection at the key, may not be null

  Returns:

  true if the map changed as a result of this operation

  Throws:

  NullPointerException - if the specified iterable is null, or if this map does not permit null keys or values, and the specified key or values contain null (optional)

• putAll

  boolean putAll(Map<? extends K,? extends V> map)

  Copies all mappings from the specified map to this multi-valued map (optional operation).

  The effect of this call is equivalent to that of calling put(k, v) on this map once for each mapping from key k to value v in the specified map.

  The behavior of this operation is undefined if the specified map is modified while the operation is in progress.

  Parameters:

  map - mappings to be stored in this map, may not be null

  Returns:

  true if the map changed as a result of this operation

  Throws:

  UnsupportedOperationException - if the putAll operation is not supported by this map

  NullPointerException - if the specified map is null, or if this map does not permit null keys or values, and the specified map contains null keys or values (optional)

  IllegalArgumentException - if some property of a key or value in the specified map prevents it from being stored in this map

• putAll

  boolean putAll(MultiValuedMap<? extends K,? extends V> map)

  Copies all mappings from the specified map to this multi-valued map (optional operation).

  The effect of this call is equivalent to that of calling put(k, v) on this map once for each mapping from key k to value v in the specified map.

  The behavior of this operation is undefined if the specified map is modified while the operation is in progress.

  Parameters:

  map - mappings to be stored in this map, may not be null

  Returns:

  true if the map changed as a result of this operation

  Throws:

  UnsupportedOperationException - if the putAll operation is not supported by this map

  NullPointerException - if the specified map is null, or if this map does not permit null keys or values, and the specified map contains null keys or values (optional)

  IllegalArgumentException - if some property of a key or value in the specified map prevents it from being stored in this map

• remove

  Collection<V> remove(Object key)

  Removes all values associated with the specified key.

  The returned collection may be modifiable, but updates will not be propagated to this multi-valued map. In case no mapping was stored for the specified key, an empty, unmodifiable collection will be returned.

  Parameters:

  key - the key to remove values from

  Returns:

  the values that were removed

  Throws:

  UnsupportedOperationException - if the map is unmodifiable

  NullPointerException - if the key is null and null keys are invalid (optional)

• removeMapping

  boolean removeMapping(Object key,
                        Object item)

  Removes a key-value mapping from the map.

  The item is removed from the collection mapped to the specified key. Other values attached to that key are unaffected.

  If the last value for a key is removed, implementations typically return an empty collection from a subsequent get(Object).

  Parameters:

  key - the key to remove from

  item - the item to remove

  Returns:

  true if the mapping was removed, false otherwise

  Throws:

  UnsupportedOperationException - if the map is unmodifiable

  NullPointerException - if the key or value is null and null is invalid (optional)

• clear

  void clear()

  Removes all of the mappings from this map (optional operation).

  The map will be empty after this call returns.

  Throws:

  UnsupportedOperationException - if the map is unmodifiable

• entries

  Collection<Map.Entry<K,V>> entries()

  Returns a Collection view of the mappings contained in this multi-valued map.

  The collection is backed by the map, so changes to the map are reflected in the collection, and vice-versa.

  Returns:

  a set view of the mappings contained in this map

• keys

  MultiSet<K> keys()

  Returns a MultiSet view of the keys contained in this multi-valued map.

  The MultiSet.getCount(Object) method of the returned multiset will give the same result a calling get(Object).size() for the same key.

  This multiset is backed by the map, so any changes in the map are reflected in the multiset.

  Returns:

  a multiset view of the keys contained in this map

• keySet

  Set<K> keySet()

  Returns a Set view of the keys contained in this multi-valued map.

  The set is backed by the map, so changes to the map are reflected in the set, and vice-versa.

  If the map is modified while an iteration over the set is in progress (except through the iterator's own remove operation), the result of the iteration is undefined. The set supports element removal, which removes the corresponding mapping from the map, via the Iterator.remove, Set.remove, removeAll, retainAll, and clear operations. It does not support the add or addAll operations.

  Returns:

  a set view of the keys contained in this map

• values

  Collection<V> values()

  Gets a Collection view of all values contained in this multi-valued map.

  Implementations typically return a collection containing the combination of values from all keys.

  Returns:

  a collection view of the values contained in this multi-valued map

• asMap

  Map<K,Collection<V>> asMap()

  Returns a view of this multi-valued map as a Map from each distinct key to the non-empty collection of that key's associated values.

  Note that this.asMap().get(k) is equivalent to this.get(k) only when k is a key contained in the multi-valued map; otherwise it returns null as opposed to an empty collection.

  Changes to the returned map or the collections that serve as its values will update the underlying multi-valued map, and vice versa. The map does not support put or putAll, nor do its entries support setValue.

  Returns:

  a map view of the mappings in this multi-valued map

• mapIterator

  MapIterator<K,V> mapIterator()

  Obtains a MapIterator over this multi-valued map.

  A map iterator is an efficient way of iterating over maps. There is no need to access the entries collection or use Map.Entry objects.

  Returns:

  a map iterator