code: @Deprecated
    public String[][] getHints(String src, long start, long length)
      throws IOException {
      BlockLocation[] blkLocations = getBlockLocations(src, start, length);
      if ((blkLocations == null) || (blkLocations.length == 0)) {
        return new String[0][];
      }
      int blkCount = blkLocations.length;
      String[][]hints = new String[blkCount][];
      for (int i=0; i < blkCount ; i++) {
        String[] hosts = blkLocations[i].getHosts();
        hints[i] = new String[hosts.length];
        hints[i] = hosts;
      }
      return hints;
    }
docs: @deprecated Use getBlockLocations instead
  
  Get hints about the location of the indicated block(s).
  
  getHints() returns a list of hostnames that store data for
  a specific file region.  It returns a set of hostnames for
  every block within the indicated region.
  
  This function is very useful when writing code that considers
  data-placement when performing operations.  For example, the
  MapReduce system tries to schedule tasks on the same machines
  as the data-block the task processes.