Collections.emptyMap() vs new HashMap()

Question

What are some of the situations where I can use Collections.emptyMap() ? The Documentation says I can use this method if I want my collection to be immutable. <

Answer 1

Why would I want an immutable empty collection? What is the point?

For the same reason you'd use Collections.unmodifiableMap() at some point. You want to return a Map instance that throws an exception if the user attempts to modify it. It's just a special case: the empty Map.