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Thinking in Java
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Filling containers

Although the problem of printing the containers is taken care of, filling containers suffers from the same deficiency as java.util.Arrays. Just like Arrays, there is a companion class called Collections containing static utility methods, including one called fill( ). This fill( ) also just duplicates a single object reference throughout the container, and also only works for List objects and not Sets or Maps:

//: c11:FillingLists.java
// The Collections.fill() method.
import com.bruceeckel.simpletest.*;
import java.util.*;

public class FillingLists {
  private static Test monitor = new Test();
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    List list = new ArrayList();
    for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
      list.add("");
    Collections.fill(list, "Hello");
    System.out.println(list);
    monitor.expect(new String[] {
      "[Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, " +
        "Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello]"
    });
  }
} ///:~


This method is made even less useful by the fact that it can only replace elements that are already in the List and will not add new elements.

To be able to create interesting examples, here is a complementary Collections2 library (part of com.bruceeckel.util for convenience) with a fill( ) method that uses a generator to add elements and allows you to specify the number of elements you want to add( ). The Generator interface defined previously will work for Collections, but the Map requires its own generator interface since a pair of objects (one key and one value) must be produced by each call to next( ). Here is the Pair class:

//: com:bruceeckel:util:Pair.java
package com.bruceeckel.util;

public class Pair {
  public Object key, value;
  public Pair(Object k, Object v) {
    key = k;
    value = v;
  }
} ///:~


Next, the generator interface that produces the Pair:

//: com:bruceeckel:util:MapGenerator.java
package com.bruceeckel.util;
public interface MapGenerator { Pair next(); } ///:~


With these, a set of utilities for working with the container classes can be developed:

//: com:bruceeckel:util:Collections2.java
// To fill any type of container using a generator object.
package com.bruceeckel.util;
import java.util.*;

public class Collections2 {
  // Fill an array using a generator:
  public static void
  fill(Collection c, Generator gen, int count) {
    for(int i = 0; i < count; i++)
      c.add(gen.next());
  }
  public static void
  fill(Map m, MapGenerator gen, int count) {
    for(int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
      Pair p = gen.next();
      m.put(p.key, p.value);
    }
  }
  public static class
  RandStringPairGenerator implements MapGenerator {
    private Arrays2.RandStringGenerator gen;
    public RandStringPairGenerator(int len) {
      gen = new Arrays2.RandStringGenerator(len);
    }
    public Pair next() {
      return new Pair(gen.next(), gen.next());
    }
  }
  // Default object so you don't have to create your own:
  public static RandStringPairGenerator rsp =
    new RandStringPairGenerator(10);
  public static class
  StringPairGenerator implements MapGenerator {
    private int index = -1;
    private String[][] d;
    public StringPairGenerator(String[][] data) {
      d = data;
    }
    public Pair next() {
      // Force the index to wrap:
      index = (index + 1) % d.length;
      return new Pair(d[index][0], d[index][1]);
    }
    public StringPairGenerator reset() {
      index = -1;
      return this;
    }
  }
  // Use a predefined dataset:
  public static StringPairGenerator geography =
    new StringPairGenerator(CountryCapitals.pairs);
  // Produce a sequence from a 2D array:
  public static class StringGenerator implements Generator{
    private String[][] d;
    private int position;
    private int index = -1;
    public StringGenerator(String[][] data, int pos) {
      d = data;
      position = pos;
    }
    public Object next() {
      // Force the index to wrap:
      index = (index + 1) % d.length;
      return d[index][position];
    }
    public StringGenerator reset() {
      index = -1;
      return this;
    }
  }
  // Use a predefined dataset:
  public static StringGenerator countries =
    new StringGenerator(CountryCapitals.pairs, 0);
  public static StringGenerator capitals =
    new StringGenerator(CountryCapitals.pairs, 1);
} ///:~


Both versions of fill( ) take an argument that determines the number of items to add to the container. In addition, there are two generators for the map: RandStringPairGenerator, which creates any number of pairs of gibberish Strings with length determined by the constructor argument; and StringPairGenerator, which produces pairs of Strings given a two-dimensional array of String. The StringGenerator also takes a two-dimensional array of String but generates single items rather than Pairs. The static rsp, geography, countries, and capitals objects provide prebuilt generators, the last three using all the countries of the world and their capitals. Note that if you try to create more pairs than are available, the generators will loop around to the beginning, and if you are putting the pairs into a Map, the duplicates will just be ignored.

Here is the predefined dataset, which consists of country names and their capitals:

//: com:bruceeckel:util:CountryCapitals.java
package com.bruceeckel.util;

public class CountryCapitals {
  public static final String[][] pairs = {
    // Africa
    {"ALGERIA","Algiers"}, {"ANGOLA","Luanda"},
    {"BENIN","Porto-Novo"}, {"BOTSWANA","Gaberone"},
    {"BURKINA FASO","Ouagadougou"},
    {"BURUNDI","Bujumbura"},
    {"CAMEROON","Yaounde"}, {"CAPE VERDE","Praia"},
    {"CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC","Bangui"},
    {"CHAD","N'djamena"},  {"COMOROS","Moroni"},
    {"CONGO","Brazzaville"}, {"DJIBOUTI","Dijibouti"},
    {"EGYPT","Cairo"}, {"EQUATORIAL GUINEA","Malabo"},
    {"ERITREA","Asmara"}, {"ETHIOPIA","Addis Ababa"},
    {"GABON","Libreville"}, {"THE GAMBIA","Banjul"},
    {"GHANA","Accra"}, {"GUINEA","Conakry"},
    {"GUINEA","-"}, {"BISSAU","Bissau"},
    {"COTE D'IVOIR (IVORY COAST)","Yamoussoukro"},
    {"KENYA","Nairobi"}, {"LESOTHO","Maseru"},
    {"LIBERIA","Monrovia"}, {"LIBYA","Tripoli"},
    {"MADAGASCAR","Antananarivo"}, {"MALAWI","Lilongwe"},
    {"MALI","Bamako"}, {"MAURITANIA","Nouakchott"},
    {"MAURITIUS","Port Louis"}, {"MOROCCO","Rabat"},
    {"MOZAMBIQUE","Maputo"}, {"NAMIBIA","Windhoek"},
    {"NIGER","Niamey"}, {"NIGERIA","Abuja"},
    {"RWANDA","Kigali"},
    {"SAO TOME E PRINCIPE","Sao Tome"},
    {"SENEGAL","Dakar"}, {"SEYCHELLES","Victoria"},
    {"SIERRA LEONE","Freetown"}, {"SOMALIA","Mogadishu"},
    {"SOUTH AFRICA","Pretoria/Cape Town"},
    {"SUDAN","Khartoum"},
    {"SWAZILAND","Mbabane"}, {"TANZANIA","Dodoma"},
    {"TOGO","Lome"}, {"TUNISIA","Tunis"},
    {"UGANDA","Kampala"},
    {"DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (ZAIRE)",
     "Kinshasa"},
    {"ZAMBIA","Lusaka"}, {"ZIMBABWE","Harare"},
    // Asia
    {"AFGHANISTAN","Kabul"}, {"BAHRAIN","Manama"},
    {"BANGLADESH","Dhaka"}, {"BHUTAN","Thimphu"},
    {"BRUNEI","Bandar Seri Begawan"},
    {"CAMBODIA","Phnom Penh"},
    {"CHINA","Beijing"}, {"CYPRUS","Nicosia"},
    {"INDIA","New Delhi"}, {"INDONESIA","Jakarta"},
    {"IRAN","Tehran"}, {"IRAQ","Baghdad"},
    {"ISRAEL","Tel Aviv"}, {"JAPAN","Tokyo"},
    {"JORDAN","Amman"}, {"KUWAIT","Kuwait City"},
    {"LAOS","Vientiane"}, {"LEBANON","Beirut"},
    {"MALAYSIA","Kuala Lumpur"}, {"THE MALDIVES","Male"},
    {"MONGOLIA","Ulan Bator"},
    {"MYANMAR (BURMA)","Rangoon"},
    {"NEPAL","Katmandu"}, {"NORTH KOREA","P'yongyang"},
    {"OMAN","Muscat"}, {"PAKISTAN","Islamabad"},
    {"PHILIPPINES","Manila"}, {"QATAR","Doha"},
    {"SAUDI ARABIA","Riyadh"}, {"SINGAPORE","Singapore"},
    {"SOUTH KOREA","Seoul"}, {"SRI LANKA","Colombo"},
    {"SYRIA","Damascus"},
    {"TAIWAN (REPUBLIC OF CHINA)","Taipei"},
    {"THAILAND","Bangkok"}, {"TURKEY","Ankara"},
    {"UNITED ARAB EMIRATES","Abu Dhabi"},
    {"VIETNAM","Hanoi"}, {"YEMEN","Sana'a"},
    // Australia and Oceania
    {"AUSTRALIA","Canberra"}, {"FIJI","Suva"},
    {"KIRIBATI","Bairiki"},
    {"MARSHALL ISLANDS","Dalap-Uliga-Darrit"},
    {"MICRONESIA","Palikir"}, {"NAURU","Yaren"},
    {"NEW ZEALAND","Wellington"}, {"PALAU","Koror"},
    {"PAPUA NEW GUINEA","Port Moresby"},
    {"SOLOMON ISLANDS","Honaira"}, {"TONGA","Nuku'alofa"},
    {"TUVALU","Fongafale"}, {"VANUATU","< Port-Vila"},
    {"WESTERN SAMOA","Apia"},
    // Eastern Europe and former USSR
    {"ARMENIA","Yerevan"}, {"AZERBAIJAN","Baku"},
    {"BELARUS (BYELORUSSIA)","Minsk"},
    {"GEORGIA","Tbilisi"},
    {"KAZAKSTAN","Almaty"}, {"KYRGYZSTAN","Alma-Ata"},
    {"MOLDOVA","Chisinau"}, {"RUSSIA","Moscow"},
    {"TAJIKISTAN","Dushanbe"}, {"TURKMENISTAN","Ashkabad"},
    {"UKRAINE","Kyiv"}, {"UZBEKISTAN","Tashkent"},
    // Europe
    {"ALBANIA","Tirana"}, {"ANDORRA","Andorra la Vella"},
    {"AUSTRIA","Vienna"}, {"BELGIUM","Brussels"},
    {"BOSNIA","-"}, {"HERZEGOVINA","Sarajevo"},
    {"CROATIA","Zagreb"}, {"CZECH REPUBLIC","Prague"},
    {"DENMARK","Copenhagen"}, {"ESTONIA","Tallinn"},
    {"FINLAND","Helsinki"}, {"FRANCE","Paris"},
    {"GERMANY","Berlin"}, {"GREECE","Athens"},
    {"HUNGARY","Budapest"}, {"ICELAND","Reykjavik"},
    {"IRELAND","Dublin"}, {"ITALY","Rome"},
    {"LATVIA","Riga"}, {"LIECHTENSTEIN","Vaduz"},
    {"LITHUANIA","Vilnius"}, {"LUXEMBOURG","Luxembourg"},
    {"MACEDONIA","Skopje"}, {"MALTA","Valletta"},
    {"MONACO","Monaco"}, {"MONTENEGRO","Podgorica"},
    {"THE NETHERLANDS","Amsterdam"}, {"NORWAY","Oslo"},
    {"POLAND","Warsaw"}, {"PORTUGAL","Lisbon"},
    {"ROMANIA","Bucharest"}, {"SAN MARINO","San Marino"},
    {"SERBIA","Belgrade"}, {"SLOVAKIA","Bratislava"},
    {"SLOVENIA","Ljujiana"}, {"SPAIN","Madrid"},
    {"SWEDEN","Stockholm"}, {"SWITZERLAND","Berne"},
    {"UNITED KINGDOM","London"}, {"VATICAN CITY","---"},
    // North and Central America
    {"ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA","Saint John's"},
    {"BAHAMAS","Nassau"},
    {"BARBADOS","Bridgetown"}, {"BELIZE","Belmopan"},
    {"CANADA","Ottawa"}, {"COSTA RICA","San Jose"},
    {"CUBA","Havana"}, {"DOMINICA","Roseau"},
    {"DOMINICAN REPUBLIC","Santo Domingo"},
    {"EL SALVADOR","San Salvador"},
    {"GRENADA","Saint George's"},
    {"GUATEMALA","Guatemala City"},
    {"HAITI","Port-au-Prince"},
    {"HONDURAS","Tegucigalpa"}, {"JAMAICA","Kingston"},
    {"MEXICO","Mexico City"}, {"NICARAGUA","Managua"},
    {"PANAMA","Panama City"}, {"ST. KITTS","-"},
    {"NEVIS","Basseterre"}, {"ST. LUCIA","Castries"},
    {"ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES","Kingstown"},
    {"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA","Washington, D.C."},
    // South America
    {"ARGENTINA","Buenos Aires"},
    {"BOLIVIA","Sucre (legal)/La Paz(administrative)"},
    {"BRAZIL","Brasilia"}, {"CHILE","Santiago"},
    {"COLOMBIA","Bogota"}, {"ECUADOR","Quito"},
    {"GUYANA","Georgetown"}, {"PARAGUAY","Asuncion"},
    {"PERU","Lima"}, {"SURINAME","Paramaribo"},
    {"TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO","Port of Spain"},
    {"URUGUAY","Montevideo"}, {"VENEZUELA","Caracas"},
  };
} ///:~


This is simply a two-dimensional array of String data.[56] Here’s a simple test using the fill( ) methods and generators:

//: c11:FillTest.java
import com.bruceeckel.util.*;
import java.util.*;

public class FillTest {
  private static Generator sg =
    new Arrays2.RandStringGenerator(7);
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    List list = new ArrayList();
    Collections2.fill(list, sg, 25);
    System.out.println(list + "\n");
    List list2 = new ArrayList();
    Collections2.fill(list2, Collections2.capitals, 25);
    System.out.println(list2 + "\n");
    Set set = new HashSet();
    Collections2.fill(set, sg, 25);
    System.out.println(set + "\n");
    Map m = new HashMap();
    Collections2.fill(m, Collections2.rsp, 25);
    System.out.println(m + "\n");
    Map m2 = new HashMap();
    Collections2.fill(m2, Collections2.geography, 25);
    System.out.println(m2);
  }
} ///:~


With these tools you can easily test the various containers by filling them with interesting data.
Thinking in Java
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   Reproduced courtesy of Bruce Eckel, MindView, Inc. Design by Interspire