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This module shows you how to use the sort method of the Collections class along with a Comparator object to sort the contents of a List into reverse natural order.

Revised: Fri Apr 08 10:52:12 CDT 2016

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Table of contents

Preface

This module is one of a series of modules designed to teach you about Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in general and the Java Collectionsframework in particular.

This module shows you how to use the sort method of the Collections class along with a Comparator object to sort the contents of a List into reverse natural order.

In addition to studying these modules, I strongly recommend that you study the Collections Trail in Oracle's Java Tutorials . The modules in this collection are intended to supplement and not to replace those tutorials.

Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following links to easily find and view the listings while you are reading about them.

Listings

Preview

In this module, I will teach you how to use the sort method of the Collections class along with a Comparator object to sort the contents of a List into reverse natural order .

The methodology that I will teach you is completely general, and can be used to sort a list in a wide variety of ways, depending on how you define the compare method of a Comparator object.

Furthermore, the same sort method and the same Comparator object can be used to sort any implementation of a list, so long as the listproperly implements the List interface.

Generics

The code in this series of modules is written with no thought given to Generics . As a result, if you copy and compile the code, you will probably get warnings about unchecked or unsafe operations .

While you will ultimately need to understand how to use Generics, that is a very complex topic. An understanding of Generics is beyond the scope of thiscourse. Therefore, for purposes of this course, you can simply ignore those warnings.

Discussion and sample code

Beginning with a quiz

Let's begin with a quiz to test your prior knowledge of the Collections Framework.

What output is produced by the program shown in Listing 1 ?

  • A. Compiler Error
  • B. Runtime Error
  • C. BILL Bill JOE Joe TOM Tom
  • D. Tom TOM Joe JOE Bill BILL
  • E. Joe Bill Tom
  • F. None of the above.
Listing 1 . The program named Comparator06 .
//File Comparator06.java //Copyright 2001, R.G.Baldwinimport java.util.*; import java.io.Serializable;public class Comparator06{ public static void main(String args[]){ new Worker().doIt();}//end main() }//end class Comparator06class Worker{ public void doIt(){Iterator iter; Collection ref;ref = new LinkedList(); Populator.fillIt(ref);Collections.sort((List)ref, new TheComparator()); iter = ref.iterator();while(iter.hasNext()){ System.out.print(iter.next() + " ");}//end while loop System.out.println();}//end doIt() }// end class Workerclass Populator{ public static void fillIt(Collection ref){ref.add("Joe"); ref.add("Bill");ref.add("Tom"); ref.add("JOE");ref.add("BILL"); ref.add("TOM");}//end fillIt() }//end class Populatorclass TheComparator implements Comparator,Serializable{ public int compare(Object o1,Object o2){if(!(o1 instanceof String)) throw new ClassCastException();if(!(o2 instanceof String)) throw new ClassCastException();//Do a comparison int result = ((String)o1).compareTo(((String)o2));return result*(-1); }//end compare()}//end class TheComparator

Questions & Answers

A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
Aislinn Reply
cm
tijani
what is titration
John Reply
what is physics
Siyaka Reply
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Jude Reply
Can you compute that for me. Ty
Jude
what is the dimension formula of energy?
David Reply
what is viscosity?
David
what is inorganic
emma Reply
what is chemistry
Youesf Reply
what is inorganic
emma
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
Krampah Reply
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
Sahid Reply
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
Samuel Reply
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Joseph Reply
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
Ryan
what's motion
Maurice Reply
what are the types of wave
Maurice
answer
Magreth
progressive wave
Magreth
hello friend how are you
Muhammad Reply
fine, how about you?
Mohammed
hi
Mujahid
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?
yasuo Reply
Who can show me the full solution in this problem?
Reofrir Reply
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Source:  OpenStax, Object-oriented programming (oop) with java. OpenStax CNX. Jun 29, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11441/1.201
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