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Class java.text.SortKey

java.lang.Object
   |
   +----java.text.SortKey

public final class SortKey
extends Object

Sort keys are generated by the Collation class. These are not real String objects. Use the SortKey methods to compare and manipulate sort keys.

Example of use:

     Collation myCollation = Collation.getDefault(Locale.US);
     SortKey key1 = myCollation.getSortKey("abc");
     SortKey key2 = myCollation.getSortKey("ABC");
     // do something with the sort keys
 Because Collation.compare()'s algorithm is complex, it is faster to sort
 long lists of words by retrieving sort keys with Collation.getSortKey().
 You can then cache the sort keys and compare them using SortKey.compareTo().
 The following is the characteristics of sort keys:
 

      bit-ordered (so you can do bit-wise comparison on sort keys)
      
must use SortKey.compareTo to compare sort keys
      
cannot be concatenated
      
faster than collation key and direct compare algorithm
 


     See Also:
    
 Collation, TableCollation, CollationKey




  


   
	compareTo(SortKey)
  
  Convenience method which does a string(bit-wise) comparison of the
 two sort keys.
  
 
	equals(Object)
  
  Compare if two objects are the same.
  
 
	hashCode()
  
  Creates an integer that is unique to the sort key.
  
 
	toString()
  
  The string value of a sort key.



  


compareTo
  public byte compareTo(SortKey target)


   Convenience method which does a string(bit-wise) comparison of the
 two sort keys.

  

     Parameters:
    
 sourceKey - source sort key
    
 targetKey - target sort key
    
 Returns:
    
 Returns LESS if sourceKey < targetKey, GREATER if sourceKey
 > targetKey and EQUAL otherwise.
    
 See Also:
    
 compareTo
  


toString
  public String toString()


   The string value of a sort key.  For debugging purpose only, do not
 modify the string.

  

     Returns:
    
 the string value of a sort key.
    
 Overrides:
    
 toString in class Object
  


equals
  public boolean equals(Object source)


   Compare if two objects are the same.

  

     Parameters:
    
 source - the object to compare to.
    
 Returns:
    
 Returns true if two objects are equal, false otherwise.
    
 Overrides:
    
 equals in class Object
  


hashCode
  public int hashCode()


   Creates an integer that is unique to the sort key.  NOTE: this
 is not the same as String.hashCode, which is a call on an object.
 However, if you are building a hashTable, you must ensure that hash &
 equal are consistent, otherwise you will corrupt your structure. If two
 objects are identical, the hash values should be the same. That is,
 if x.equals(y), then x.hashCode() = y.hashCode(). This call is used by
 CollatedString.hashCode().
 Example of use:
 
     Collation myCollation = Collation.getDefault(Locale.US);
     SortKey key1 = myCollation.getSortKey("abc");
     SortKey key2 = myCollation.getSortKey("ABC");
     // key1.hashCode() != key2.hashCode()
 

  

     Returns:
    
 the hash value based on the string's collation order.
    
 Overrides:
    
 hashCode in class Object
    
 See Also:
    
 hashCode
  


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