Why does the java.util.Set interface lack get(int Index), or any similar get() method?
It seems that sets are great for putting things into, but I can't find an elegant way of retrieving a single item from them.
If I know I want the first item, I can use set.iterator().next(), but otherwise it seems I have to cast to an Array to retrieve an item at a specific index?
What are the appropriate ways of retrieving data from a set? (other than using an iterator)
I'm asking this question because I had a dbUnit test, where I could reasonably assert that the returned set from a query had only 1 item, and I was trying to access that item.
So, what's the difference between Set and List?
Because sets have no ordering. Some implementations do (particularly those implementing the java.util.SortedSet interface), but that is not a general property of sets.
If you're trying to use sets this way, you should consider using a list instead.