Why equals and hashCode were defined in Object?

Question

What\'s the reasoning behind decision to include these methods in the java.lang.Object? Equality and hashing doesn\'t make sense for many classes.

It would be more l

Answer 1

Any object, regardless of its type, can sensibly answer whether it's equivalent to any other object, even if the other object's type is one it's never heard of. If it's never heard of the other object's type, that fact alone is sufficient for it to report that it isn't equivalent to the latter object.