I am using this blog post to build upon these examples to demonstrate the utility of Java 7’s Objects.equals (Object, Object) method and will demonstrate the usefulness of Objects.hash (Object ...

This method is used by hash-based Java collection classes, such as the java.util package’s HashMap, HashSet, and Hashtable classes to ensure that objects are properly stored and retrieved.

Reference objects aren't just useful when memory is at a premium; they can also be used to provide slick caching abilities to any application.