Question 1

How to add Guava to an Android project?

Accepted Answer

Use the Android flavor by specifying version '33.5.0-android' in your Gradle or Maven dependencies. Choose 'implementation' for internal use or 'api' if exposing Guava types in your public API, as per the build instructions.

Question 2

Guava vs Apache Commons Collections: which should I use?

Accepted Answer

Guava offers more modern and comprehensive utilities with a focus on immutability and concurrency, while Apache Commons has broader legacy support. Pick Guava for new projects needing robust, Google-backed tools, but consider Commons for compatibility with older systems.

Question 3

How to use Guava's immutable collections?

Accepted Answer

Create them using builders like ImmutableList.builder() or static factory methods such as ImmutableList.copyOf(). They ensure thread safety and prevent modification after creation, simplifying concurrent code.

Question 4

Does Guava work with Java 17?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Guava's mainline flavor is tested with OpenJDK 17 on Linux, and it requires JDK 1.8 or higher, so it's compatible with Java 8 through 17 and later versions, as stated in the README.

Question 5

What are the risks of using beta APIs in Guava?

Accepted Answer

Beta APIs can change or be removed at any time, potentially breaking your code. For libraries, use the Guava Beta Checker or repackage to avoid exposing unstable APIs to downstream users, as recommended in the warnings.

Question 6

How to handle hashing with Guava?

Accepted Answer

Guava provides utilities like Hashing.sha256() for creating hash functions, useful for caching, bloom filters, and data integrity checks. These are robust and simplify common hashing tasks beyond Java's standard library.

Guava: Google Core Libraries for Java

What is Guava: Google Core Libraries for Java?

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