code: public synchronized Object get(Object key)
                      throws IOException,
                      EOFException,
                      FileManagerException,
                      ClassNotFoundException,
                      HashtableOnDiskException {
          if (filemgr == null) {
              throw new HashtableOnDiskException("No Filemanager");
          }
  
          Object answer = null;
  
          if (answer == null) {
              HashtableEntry e = findEntry(key, RETRIEVE_ALL, !CHECK_EXPIRED);
              if (e != null) {
                  answer = e.value;
                  htoddc.returnToHashtableEntryPool(e);
              }
          }
          read_requests++;
          if (answer != null) {
              read_hits++;
          }
  
          return answer;
      }
docs: ************************************************************************
  Returns the value to which this map maps the specified key, or null.
  
  @param key The key for the object to fetch.
  
  @return The specified object, or null if it cannot be found.
  
  @exception FileManagerException The underlying file manager has a problem.
  @exception ClassNotFoundException The object or some object in the hash bucket
  being searched cannotbe deserialized.
  @exception IOException The underlying file has a problem and is likely
  corrupt.
  @exception EOFxception We were asked to seek beyond the end of the file.
  The file is likely corrupt.
  @exception HashtableOnDiskException The hashtable header is readable but invalid.
  One or more of the following is true: the magic string is invalid, the header
  pointers are null, the header pointers do not point to a recognizable hashtable.
  ***********************************************************************