What issues should be considered when overriding equals and hashCode in Java?

When overriding the equals() and hashCode() methods in Java, you should consider the following issues:

  1. Symmetry: The equals() method should be symmetric, which means that x.equals(y) should return the same result as y.equals(x).

  2. Transitivity: If x.equals(y) and y.equals(z) are true, then x.equals(z) should also be true.

  3. Consistency: The equals() method should be consistent, which means that multiple invocations of x.equals(y) should return the same result as long as the objects being compared are not modified.

  4. Null comparison: The equals() method should return false when x is null or y is null.

  5. Reflexivity: The equals() method should be reflexive, which means that x.equals(x) should return true.

  6. Hash code consistency: If x.equals(y) is true, then x.hashCode() should be equal to y.hashCode().

  7. Hash code stability: The hashCode() method should return the same value for an object as long as the object is not modified.

  8. Hash code uniqueness: It is not required, but it is recommended that different objects have different hash codes.

It is also important to override the equals() and hashCode() methods together, as the hashCode() method is used in hash-based collections such as `