collections : the Object is not enough

[tyris]

i have noticed something about collections, and i'd like to know if it's normal, and what can i do to avoid this.

i do have a Database object (from lotus.domino.* package)

i made a Hashtable "h" containing Database objects.

it seems that when i try to get back Database objects, the h.get(aKey) returns me a Object, not a Database object.

Is it always the same with collections ? do they transform all input in a simple object ? what can i do to keep a Database collection, and not a simple Object collection ? (i'd like to avoid a Database cast)
Best regards,
Elise, XML learning girl X-)

 

[wushutwist]

It returns an Object reference, it is still of the type that you originally added to the Collection or Map. You are going to have to perform the cast unless you want to write your own Data Structure. What would be the point of that? The Collection API is designed this way so that it is very flexible, the Architects had no way of knowing what type of object you would want to add to the Collections so they accept an Object reference. Since every object in Java must have Object as an Ancestor, this allow a Collection to store an Java object.