${programmers}
A ${finder} can:
 * Look up an existing ${entity} by a String key; or
 * Create an object from a String (ie, parse it)
It was originally designed for the first case above, hence the name
!3 Entity Lookup
For example, here's a ${finder} for an ${entity} class ''User'':
----{{{    public User findUser(String s) {
       return users.get(s);
    } }}}----This assumes that the ''Map'' of ''users'' maps from the name to the corresponding ''User''.

It can be convenient to have the ${finder} also create the Entity when the String is sufficient to completely descrive the Entity. For example, here's a finder for a ''State'', which simply has a name:
----{{{    public User findUser(String s) {
       State state = states.get(s);
       if (state == null) {
           state = new State(s);
           states.put(s,state);
       }
       return state ;
    } }}}----For a full example, see .FitLibrary.SpecifiCations.ParserSpecifications.EntityParser.SimpleExample
!3 Parsing
For example, here's a ${finder} that treats the String "null" as a null value instead of a String:
----{{{    public String findString(String s) {
       if (s.equals("null"))
           return null;
       return s;
    } }}}----For a full example, see .FitLibrary.SpecifiCations.ParserSpecifications.EntityParser.FinderAsSpecialisedParser