Wait til Java 1.4...... You'll get a LinkedHashMap and LinkedHashSet which preserve insertion order.

NO is the simple answer. The purpose of the HashTable is to immediately sort any added objects for efficient retrieval by their key.

Possible solutions: consider creating a second collection of references such as a Vector and add to that at the same time. The Vector will maintain entry-order unless you change it.

Remember this doesn't create a set of duplicate objects! You will have one 'pool' of objects but two ways of referencing them - by key using the HashTable and by Entry order using the Vector - similar to 2 indexes on a table.

Another tip: If using Java 1.2 or later consider changing your HashTable to HashMap or HashSet and using the Collections framework interfaces throughout - will give you flexibility in the future to change your collection.