Combining strings and integers into collection

[neilvb]

Hello,

I'm trying to correct a basic class that takes pairs of strings and their corresponding integers, and has a method to return the relevant integer when passed one of the strings. Currently, it has two arrays, and it has to keep track of the info relevant for each string and integer pair by an index number.

I would like to replace the two arrays with a single collection, but as I'm new to Java I'm having trouble. I think that a map would be a good idea, but when I tried using a HashMap, I ran into difficulty when I tried to return an integer, even when using generics.

Here is some selected code:

public class Marks
{
...
HashMap studentMarks = new HashMap <String, Integer> ();
...
public int getMark(String name) {
   if (studentMarks.containsKey(name))
      return (studentMarks.get (name)); \\ incompatible types error
   return 0; 
}
...
}

I'm not sure what to do about the error on the first return statement. It says that it requires an int, but find an Object. I thought that since I was using the Integer generic, it would be ok.

Help or advice appreciated,

Thanks,

N

[eRaaaa]

HashMap<String, Integer> studentMarks = new HashMap <String, Integer> ();
or better
Map<String, Integer> studentMarks = new HashMap <String, Integer> ();

[neilvb]

This looks like a very simple mistake! Thanks