Key type other than String

After looking through the documentation, mailing lists, and this forum, it appears that the key of a map within the application context can only be a string.

Code:

---

<map>
  <entry key="string">
      <value>"the value"</value>
  </entry>
 </map>

---

Is there a way around this? I'd like use instances of my own class as the key.
I found a few discussions on this topic but no resolution. Unless, of course there isn't one.

Thanks.

mfuller,

There is a JIRA entry for this issue Allow <map> keys that are not strings.

As a workaround, you can create a FactoryBean that accepts two lists (key, values) and build a Map.
HTH

Thanks. I'll check out your suggestion.