I'm thinking of using the empty() method in net.sf.hibernate.collection.Set to identify whether the lazy collection set is empty(without causing the lazy loading). Is it a safe assumption that this method will be supported in future releases?

Thanks

Ghm...
Set.empty method is part of Set interface so Hibernate just has to continue supportin it in the future :)

But this metod forces collection initialization so I have no idea how you plan to use it without causing collection to be loaded.

No. There is an empty() method apart from isEmpty(). I know isEmpty causes lazy loading since it is implemented in net.sf.hibernate.collection.Set. But empty() doesn't cause the lazy collection to be loaded.

Oh sorry, you are right.

But what use do you have for empty() method which does not return correct value if Set was not loaded yet?

Btw, to perform empty-check you can use code like:



I think this code is better because does require to cast Sets to some Hibernate specific classes. Although I still do not understand why you may need this.

Your application code should *not* be coupled to the PersistentCollection class - that is internal Hibernate implementation details.