java/util/Queue.java

/*
 * Written by Doug Lea with assistance from members of JCP JSR-166
 * Expert Group and released to the public domain. Use, modify, and
 * redistribute this code in any way without acknowledgement.
 */

package java.util;

/**
 * A Collection designed for holding elements prior to processing.
 * Besides basic {@link Collection} operations, queues provide
 * additional insertion, extraction, and inspection operations.
 *
 * <p>Queues typically, but do not necessarily, order elements in a
 * FIFO (first-in-first-out) manner.  Among the exceptions are priority
 * queues, which order elements according to a supplied comparators, or
 * the elements natural ordering.  Every Queue implementation must specify
 * its ordering guarantees.
 *
 * <p>The {@link #offer(E)} method adds an element if possible, otherwise
 * returning <tt>false</tt>.  This differs from the {@link
 * Collections#add(Object)} method, which throws an unchecked exception upon
 * failure. It is designed for use in collections in which failure to
 * add is a normal, rather than exceptional occurrence, for example,
 * in fixed-capacity (or &ldquo;bounded&rdquo;) queues.

 * 
 * <p>The {@link #remove()} and {@link #poll()} methods remove and return an
 * element in accord with the implementation's ordering policy. 
 * Exactly which element is removed from the queue is a function
 * of the queue's ordering policy, which differs from implementation
 * to implementation.  Possible orderings include (but are not limited
 * to) first-in-first-out (FIFO), element priority, and arbitrary.
 * The <tt>remove()</tt> and <tt>poll()</tt> methods differ only in their
 * behavior when the queue is empty: the <tt>remove()</tt> method throws an
 * exception, while the <tt>poll()</tt> method returns <tt>null</tt>.
 *
 * <p>The {@link #element()} and {@link #peek()} methods return but do
 * not delete the element that would be obtained by a call to
 * the <tt>remove</tt> and <tt>poll</tt> methods respectively.
 *
 * <p>The <tt>Queue</tt> interface does not define the <i>blocking queue
 * methods</i>, which are common in concurrent programming.  These methods,
 * which wait for elements to appear or for space to become available, are
 * defined in the {@link java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue} interface, which
 * extends this interface.
 *
 * <p><tt>Queue</tt> implementations generally do not allow insertion of
 * <tt>null</tt> elements.  Even in the few implementations that permit it,
 * it is a bad idea, as <tt>null</tt> is also used as a special return value
 * by the <tt>poll</tt> method to indicate that the queue contains no
 * elements.
 *
 * <p>This interface is a member of the
 * <a href="{@docRoot}/../guide/collections/index.html">
 * Java Collections Framework</a>.
 *
 * @see Collection
 * @see LinkedList
 * @see PriorityQueue
 * @see LinkedQueue
 * @see java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue
 * @see java.util.concurrent.ArrayBlockingQueue
 * @see java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingQueue
 * @see java.util.concurrent.PriorityBlockingQueue
 */
public interface Queue<E> extends Collection<E> {
    /**
     * Add the specified element to this queue, if possible.
     *
     * @param element the element to add.
     * @return true if it was possible to add the element to the queue.
     */
    public boolean offer(E element);

    /**
     * Remove and return an element from the queue if one is available.
     *
     * @return an element previously on the queue, or <tt>null</tt> if the
     *         queue is empty. 
     */
    public E poll();

    /**
     * Remove and return an element from the queue.  This method differs
     * from the <tt>poll</tt> method in that it throws an exception if the
     * queue is empty. 
     *
     * @return an element previously on the queue.
     * @throws NoSuchElementException if the queue is empty.
     */
    public E remove() throws NoSuchElementException;

    /**
     * Return, but do not remove, an element from the queue, or <tt>null</tt>
     * if the queue is empty.  This method returns the same object reference
     * that would be returned by by the <tt>poll</tt> method.  The two methods
     * differ in that this method does not remove the element from the queue.
     *
     * @return an element on the queue, or <tt>null</tt> if the queue is empty.
     */
    public E peek();

    /**
     * Return, but do not remove, an element from the queue.  This method
     * differs from the <tt>peek</tt> method in that it throws an exception if
     * the queue is empty.
     *
     * @return an element on the queue.
     * @throws NoSuchElementException if the queue is empty.
     */
    public E element() throws NoSuchElementException;
}
Revision:	1.4
Committed:	Sat Jun 7 18:31:00 2003 UTC (20 years, 11 months ago) by dl
Branch:	MAIN
CVS Tags:	JSR166_PRELIMINARY_TEST_RELEASE_1
Changes since 1.3:	+6 -6 lines
Log Message:	Documentation fixups
#	Content
1	/*
2	* Written by Doug Lea with assistance from members of JCP JSR-166
3	* Expert Group and released to the public domain. Use, modify, and
4	* redistribute this code in any way without acknowledgement.
5	*/
6
7	package java.util;
8
9	/**
10	* A Collection designed for holding elements prior to processing.
11	* Besides basic {@link Collection} operations, queues provide
12	* additional insertion, extraction, and inspection operations.
13	*
14	* <p>Queues typically, but do not necessarily, order elements in a
15	* FIFO (first-in-first-out) manner. Among the exceptions are priority
16	* queues, which order elements according to a supplied comparators, or
17	* the elements natural ordering. Every Queue implementation must specify
18	* its ordering guarantees.
19	*
20	* <p>The {@link #offer(E)} method adds an element if possible, otherwise
21	* returning <tt>false</tt>. This differs from the {@link
22	* Collections#add(Object)} method, which throws an unchecked exception upon
23	* failure. It is designed for use in collections in which failure to
24	* add is a normal, rather than exceptional occurrence, for example,
25	* in fixed-capacity (or “bounded”) queues.
26
27	*
28	* <p>The {@link #remove()} and {@link #poll()} methods remove and return an
29	* element in accord with the implementation's ordering policy.
30	* Exactly which element is removed from the queue is a function
31	* of the queue's ordering policy, which differs from implementation
32	* to implementation. Possible orderings include (but are not limited
33	* to) first-in-first-out (FIFO), element priority, and arbitrary.
34	* The <tt>remove()</tt> and <tt>poll()</tt> methods differ only in their
35	* behavior when the queue is empty: the <tt>remove()</tt> method throws an
36	* exception, while the <tt>poll()</tt> method returns <tt>null</tt>.
37	*
38	* <p>The {@link #element()} and {@link #peek()} methods return but do
39	* not delete the element that would be obtained by a call to
40	* the <tt>remove</tt> and <tt>poll</tt> methods respectively.
41	*
42	* <p>The <tt>Queue</tt> interface does not define the <i>blocking queue
43	* methods</i>, which are common in concurrent programming. These methods,
44	* which wait for elements to appear or for space to become available, are
45	* defined in the {@link java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue} interface, which
46	* extends this interface.
47	*
48	* <p><tt>Queue</tt> implementations generally do not allow insertion of
49	* <tt>null</tt> elements. Even in the few implementations that permit it,
50	* it is a bad idea, as <tt>null</tt> is also used as a special return value
51	* by the <tt>poll</tt> method to indicate that the queue contains no
52	* elements.
53	*
54	* <p>This interface is a member of the
55	* <a href="{@docRoot}/../guide/collections/index.html">
56	* Java Collections Framework</a>.
57	*
58	* @see Collection
59	* @see LinkedList
60	* @see PriorityQueue
61	* @see LinkedQueue
62	* @see java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue
63	* @see java.util.concurrent.ArrayBlockingQueue
64	* @see java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingQueue
65	* @see java.util.concurrent.PriorityBlockingQueue
66	*/
67	public interface Queue<E> extends Collection<E> {
68	/**
69	* Add the specified element to this queue, if possible.
70	*
71	* @param element the element to add.
72	* @return true if it was possible to add the element to the queue.
73	*/
74	public boolean offer(E element);
75
76	/**
77	* Remove and return an element from the queue if one is available.
78	*
79	* @return an element previously on the queue, or <tt>null</tt> if the
80	* queue is empty.
81	*/
82	public E poll();
83
84	/**
85	* Remove and return an element from the queue. This method differs
86	* from the <tt>poll</tt> method in that it throws an exception if the
87	* queue is empty.
88	*
89	* @return an element previously on the queue.
90	* @throws NoSuchElementException if the queue is empty.
91	*/
92	public E remove() throws NoSuchElementException;
93
94	/**
95	* Return, but do not remove, an element from the queue, or <tt>null</tt>
96	* if the queue is empty. This method returns the same object reference
97	* that would be returned by by the <tt>poll</tt> method. The two methods
98	* differ in that this method does not remove the element from the queue.
99	*
100	* @return an element on the queue, or <tt>null</tt> if the queue is empty.
101	*/
102	public E peek();
103
104	/**
105	* Return, but do not remove, an element from the queue. This method
106	* differs from the <tt>peek</tt> method in that it throws an exception if
107	* the queue is empty.
108	*
109	* @return an element on the queue.
110	* @throws NoSuchElementException if the queue is empty.
111	*/
112	public E element() throws NoSuchElementException;
113	}