Understanding the Difference Between Java Enumeration and Iterator

What is the Difference Between Java Enumeration & Iterator?

Java enumeration and iterator are two interfaces used to access elements of a collection. While both have similar purposes, there are significant differences between them. The main difference between the two is that the enumeration is an older interface than the iterator and provides more basic operations for accessing elements of the collection.

The enumeration interface provides two methods for accessing elements of the collection: hasMoreElements() and nextElement(). The hasMoreElements() method checks if there are any more elements in the collection and returns true if there are, and false otherwise. The nextElement() method returns the next element in the collection. This interface works well with legacy collections, but it cannot be used to modify the contents of a collection.

The iterator interface provides more functionality than the enumeration interface. It provides three methods for accessing elements of the collection: hasNext(), next(), and remove(). The hasNext() method checks if there are any more elements in the collection and returns true if there are, and false otherwise. The next() method returns the next element in the collection. The remove() method is used to remove the element returned by the next() method from the collection. The iterator interface allows you to modify the contents of a collection.

In summary, the main difference between Java enumeration and iterator is that the former is limited to read-only operations on a collection while the latter allows for modifications to the contents of a collection.