The Collections Framework

The collections framework is a unified architecture for representing and manipulating collections, enabling them to be manipulated independently of the details of their representation. It reduces programming effort while increasing performance. It enables interoperability among unrelated APIs, reduces effort in designing and learning new APIs, and fosters software reuse. The framework is based on more than a dozen collection interfaces. It includes implementations of these interfaces and algorithms to manipulate them.

Overview

• Overview - An overview of the collections framework.

API Specification

• API Reference - An annotated outline of the classes and interfaces comprising the collections framework, with links into the JavaDoc.

Tutorials and Programmer's Guides

• Tutorial - A tutorial introduction to the collections framework with many programming examples.

API Enhancements

• API Enhancements in Java SE 7 - An annotated list of API changes between release 6 and 7.
• API Enhancements in Java SE 6 - An annotated list of API changes between release 5.0 and 6.
• API Enhancements in J2SE 5.0 - An annotated list of API changes between release 1.4 and 5.0.
• API Enhancements in J2SDK 1.4 - An annotated list of API changes between release 1.3 and 1.4.

More Information

• Design FAQ - Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the design of the collections framework.