HashMap(key: String, value: ArrayList) returns an Object instead of ArrayList?

Question

I\'m storing data in a HashMap with (key: String, value: ArrayList). The part I\'m having trouble with declares a new ArrayList \"current,\" searches the HashMap for the String

Answer 1

The get method of the HashMap is returning an Object, but the variable current is expected to take a ArrayList:

ArrayList current = new ArrayList();
// ...
current = dictMap.get(dictCode);

For the above code to work, the Object must be cast to an ArrayList:

ArrayList current = new ArrayList();
// ...
current = (ArrayList)dictMap.get(dictCode);

However, probably the better way would be to use generic collection objects in the first place:

HashMap> dictMap =
    new HashMap>();

// Populate the HashMap.

ArrayList