This class implements a vector of bits that grows as needed. Each component of the bit set has a
boolean
value. The bits of a
BitSet
are indexed by nonnegative integers. Individual indexed bits can be examined, set, or cleared. One
BitSet
may be used to modify the contents of another
BitSet
through logical AND, logical inclusive OR, and logical exclusive OR operations.
By default, all bits in the set initially have the value false
.
Every bit set has a current size, which is the number of bits of space currently in use by the bit set. Note that the size is related to the implementation of a bit set, so it may change with implementation. The length of a bit set relates to logical length of a bit set and is defined independently of implementation.
Unless otherwise noted, passing a null parameter to any of the methods in a BitSet
will result in a NullPointerException
.
A BitSet
is not safe for multithreaded use without external synchronization.