The SortedSet Interface

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Trail: Collections
Lesson: Interfaces

## The SortedSet Interface

> A `SortedSet` is a `Set` that maintains its elements in ascending order, sorted according to the elements' natural order or according to a `Comparator` provided at `SortedSet` creation time. In addition to the normal `Set` operations, the `SortedSet` interface provides operations for the following:
> - `Range view` — allows arbitrary range operations on the sorted set
> - `Endpoints` — returns the first or last element in the sorted set
> - `Comparator access` — returns the `Comparator`, if any, used to sort the set
> The code for the `SortedSet` interface follows.

> >     public interface SortedSet<E> extends Set<E> {
> >         //Range-view
> >         SortedSet<E> subSet(E fromElement, E toElement);
> >         SortedSet<E> headSet(E toElement);
> >         SortedSet<E> tailSet(E fromElement);

> >         //Endpoints
> >         E first();
> >         E last();

> >         //Comparator access
> >         ComparatorComparator<? super E> comparator();
> >     }

### Set Operations

> The operations that `SortedSet` inherits from `Set` behave identically on sorted sets and normal sets with two exceptions:
> - The `Iterator` returned by the `iterator` operation traverses the sorted set in order.
> - The array returned by `toArray` contains the sorted set's elements in order.
> Although the interface doesn't guarantee it, the `toString` method of the Java platform's `SortedSet` implementations returns a string containing all the elements of the sorted set, in order.

### Standard Constructors

> By convention, all general-purpose `Collection` implementations provide a standard conversion constructor that takes a `Collection`; `SortedSet` implementations are no exception. In `TreeSet`, this constructor creates an instance that sorts its elements according to their natural order. This was probably a mistake. It would have been better to check dynamically to see whether the specified collection was a `SortedSet` instance, and if so, to sort the new `TreeSet` according to the same criterion (comparator or natural ordering). Because `TreeSet` took the approach that it did, it also provides a constructor that takes a `SortedSet` and returns a new `TreeSet` containing the same elements sorted according to the same criterion. Note that it is the compile-time type of the argument, not its runtime type, that determines which of these two constructors is invoked (and whether the sorting criterion is preserved).

> `SortedSet` implementations also provide, by convention, a constructor that takes a `Comparator` and returns an empty set sorted according to the specified `Comparator`. If `null` is passed to this constructor, it returns a set that sorts its elements according to their natural order.

### Range-view Operations

> The `range-view` operations are somewhat analogous to those provided by the `List` interface, but there is one big difference. Range views of a sorted set remain valid even if the backing sorted set is modified directly. This is feasible because the endpoints of a range view of a sorted set are absolute points in the element space rather than specific elements in the backing collection, as is the case for lists. A `range-view` of a sorted set is really just a window onto whatever portion of the set lies in the designated part of the element space. Changes to the `range-view` write back to the backing sorted set and vice versa. Thus, it's okay to use `range-view`s on sorted sets for long periods of time, unlike `range-view`s on lists.

> Sorted sets provide three `range-view` operations. The first, `subSet`, takes two endpoints, like `subList`. Rather than indices, the endpoints are objects and must be comparable to the elements in the sorted set, using the `Set`'s `Comparator` or the natural ordering of its elements, whichever the `Set` uses to order itself. Like `subList`, the range is half open, including its low endpoint but excluding the high one.

> Thus, the following one line of code tells you how many words between `"doorbell"` and `"pickle"`, including doorbell but excluding pickle, are contained in a `SortedSet` of strings called `dictionary`:

> >     int count = dictionary.subSet("doorbell", "pickle").size();

> In like manner, the following one-liner removes all the elements beginning with the letter `f`.

> >     dictionary.subSet("f", "g").clear();

> A similar trick can be used to print a table telling you how many words begin with each letter.

> >     for (char ch = 'a'; ch <= 'z'; ) {
> >         String from = String.valueOf(ch++);
> >         String to = String.valueOf(ch);
> >         System.out.println(from + ": " +
> >             dictionary.subSet(from, to).size());
> >     }

> Suppose you want to view a closed interval, which contains both of its endpoints, instead of an open interval. If the element type allows for the calculation of the successor of a given value in the element space, merely request the `subSet` from `lowEndpoint` to `successor(highEndpoint)`. Although it isn't entirely obvious, the successor of a string `s` in `String`'s natural ordering is `s + "\0"` — that is, `s` with a `null` character appended.

> Thus, the following one-liner tells you how many words between `"doorbell"` and `"pickle"`, including doorbell and pickle, are contained in the dictionary.

> >     count = dictionary.subSet("doorbell", "pickle\0").size();

> A similar technique can be used to view an open interval, which contains neither endpoint. The open-interval view from `lowEndpoint` to `highEndpoint` is the half-open interval from `successor(lowEndpoint)` to `highEndpoint`. Use the following to calculate the number of words between `"doorbell"` and `"pickle"`, excluding both.

> >     count = dictionary.subSet("doorbell\0", "pickle").size();

> The `SortedSet` interface contains two more `range-view` operations — `headSet` and `tailSet`, both of which take a single `Object` argument. The former returns a view of the initial portion of the backing `SortedSet`, up to but not including the specified object. The latter returns a view of the final portion of the backing `SortedSet`, beginning with the specified object and continuing to the end of the backing `SortedSet`. Thus, the following code allows you to view the dictionary as two disjoint `volumes` (`a-m` and `n-z`).

> >     SortedSet<String> volume1 = dictionary.headSet("n");
> >     SortedSet<String>> volume2 = dictionary.tailSet("n");

### Endpoint Operations

> The `SortedSet` interface contains operations to return the first and last elements in the sorted set, not surprisingly called `first` and `last`. In addition to their obvious uses, `last` allows a workaround for a deficiency in the `SortedSet` interface. One thing you'd like to do with a `SortedSet` is to go into the interior of the `Set` and iterate forward or backward. It's easy enough to go forward from the interior: Just get a `tailSet` and iterate over it. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to go backward.

> The following idiom obtains the first element that is less than a specified object `o` in the element space.

> >     Object predecessor = ss.headSet(o).last();

> This is a fine way to go one element backward from a point in the interior of a sorted set. It could be applied repeatedly to iterate backward, but this is very inefficient, requiring a lookup for each element returned.

### Comparator Accessor

> The `SortedSet` interface contains an accessor method called `comparator` that returns the `Comparator` used to sort the set, or `null` if the set is sorted according to the natural order of its elements. This method is provided so that sorted sets can be copied into new sorted sets with the same ordering. It is used by the `SortedSet` constructor described previously.

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