Java - Suitable data structure for search interval [duplicate]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Does an open-ended interval implementation exist for Java?

I'm new to Java and i would like to know what is the best data structure and how can i search through that data structure for my case: I have int intervals eg: 10-100, 200-500, 1000-5000 and for each interval i have a value 1, 2, 3, 4. I would like to know how can i save all those intervals and their values in a data structure and how can i search through that data structure to return the value for the specific interval. Eg. if i search 15, that is in interval 10-100, i would like to return 1.

Thank you

Answer 1

Use TreeMap, which is NavigableMap (Java 6 or higher).

Suppose you have entries key->value (10->1, 100->1, 200->2, 500->2, 1000->3, 5000->3)

floorEntry(15) will return 10->1

ceilingEntry(15) will return 100->1

With this you can determine the interval number of 15, which is 1. You can also determine if a number is between intervals.

Edit: added example

    TreeMap<Integer, Integer> map = new TreeMap<Integer, Integer>();
    map.put(10, 1);
    map.put(100, 1);
    map.put(200, 2);
    map.put(500, 2);
    map.put(1000, 3);
    map.put(5000, 3);
    int lookingFor = 15;
    int groupBelow = map.floorEntry(lookingFor).getValue();
    int groupAbove = map.ceilingEntry(lookingFor).getValue();
    if (groupBelow == groupAbove) {
        System.out.println("Number " + lookingFor + " is in group " + groupBelow);
    } else {
        System.out.println("Number " + lookingFor + 
                " is between groups " + groupBelow + " and " + groupAbove);
    }