Named object type

Question

I want to create a 'Named' type to act as a parent to all classes whose identity is based solely on a "name" (ie, a String), such that no two instances with the same name can be added to a Set.
First question: Is there such an animal in Java already? I'd hate to be reinventing the wheel.
Here's what I've got so far:...
* Class representing an Object with a "name" (a String) and whose indentity is
* based solely on it by default. The name is set at construction time and is final.
* Subclasses may override equals() and hashCode() at the expense of this default
* behaviour.
public class Named
     private final String name;
     private        int   hashcode = -1;
     protected Named(String n) {
          name = n;
     public final String getName()     {
          return name;
     public boolean equals(Object o)     {
          if ( this.getClass() == o.getClass() )
               return name.equals( ((Named)o).name;
          else
               return false;
     public int hashCode()
          if (hashcode == -1)
               hashcode = name.hashCode();
          return hashcode;
     /** protected clone method solely to allow subclasses to implement Cloneable */
     protected Object clone() throws CloneNotSupportedException
          return super.clone();
}Questions:
Is '==' correct for comparing Classes?
Is there a better way to achieve this?

Answer 1

georgemc wrote:
OP, if you can override equals and hashCode, your desire to ensure uniqueness within a Set based on names alone is restricted. Sounds more like you'd want your own implementation of Set for thatSorry for delay in replying folks. Had to go shopping and stopped off at the pub to think about this.
You're absolutetly right george. As puckstopper already pointed out, my thinking wasn't very linear, which is crucial when I'm trying to implement an alternate form of Object.
I've already jettisoned the idea of an overridable type for a simple 'Named' type by making equals() and hashCode() final, and added a few more doc comments about usage.
My problem was that, in my current Project, I had simply oodles of classes that fit into this category, and have since found that they exist in a bunch of other projects I've already writted. Had I but known.
I guess my original question still remains: Am I reinventing the wheel?
Another question for those in the know: should I implement Comparable?
PS: I didn't form my orginal thread as a question, but have no idea how to change it; and I've already had my 15 minutes of fame(?).