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| Chapter 29 The java.text Package |

## 29.17 java.text.RuleBasedCollator (JDK 1.1)

###

This class is a concrete subclass of the abstract `Collator` class. It performs collations using a table of rules that are specified in textual form. Most applications do not use this class directly; instead they call `Collator.getInstance()` to obtain a `Collator` object (typically a `RuleBasedCollator` object) that implements the default collation order for a specified or default locale. You should only need to use this class if you are collating strings for a locale that is not supported by default, or if you need to implement a highly customized collation order.

    public class RuleBasedCollator extends Collator {
        // Public Constructor
                public RuleBasedCollator(String rules) throws ParseException;
        // Public Instance Methods
                public Object clone();  // Overrides Collator
                public int compare(String source, String target);  // Defines Collator
                public boolean equals(Object obj);  // Overrides Collator
                public CollationElementIterator getCollationElementIterator(String source);
                public CollationKey getCollationKey(String source);  // Defines Collator
                public String getRules();
                public int hashCode();  // Defines Collator
    }

### Hierarchy:

Object->Collator(Cloneable, Serializable)->RuleBasedCollator

java.text.ParsePosition (JDK 1.1) |  | java.text.SimpleDateFormat (JDK 1.1)