Java™ How to Program, Seventh Edition

19.4. Interface Collection and Class Collections

Interface Collection is the root interface in the collection hierarchy from which interfaces Set, Queue and List are derived. Interface Set defines a collection that does not contain duplicates. Interface Queue defines a collection that represents a waiting line—typically, insertions are made at the back of a queue and deletions are made from the front, though other orders can be specified. We discuss Queue and Set in Section 19.8 and Section 19.9, respectively. Interface Collection contains bulk operations (i.e., operations performed on an entire collection) for adding, clearing, comparing and retaining objects (or elements) in a collection. A Collection can also be converted to an array. In ...