ArrayList not using the overridden equals

Question

I\'m having a problem with getting an ArrayList to correctly use an overriden equals. the problem is that I\'m trying to use the equals to only test for a single key field, and

Answer 1

You're invoking contains with an argument that's a String and not an InnerClass:

System.out.println( objectList.contains("UNIQUE ID1"))

In my JDK:

public class ArrayList {

    public boolean contains(Object o) {
    return indexOf(o) >= 0;
    }

    public int indexOf(Object o) {
    if (o == null) {
        // omitted for brevity - aix
    } else {
        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
        if (o.equals(elementData[i])) // <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
            return i;
    }
    return -1;
    }
}

Note how indexOf calls o.equals(). In your case, o is a String, so your objectList.contains will be using String.equals and not InnerClass.equals.