java create a function that returns a hashset

Question

         public static HashSet<String> FunctionName(String s, int num){
            HashSet<String> output = new HashSet<String>();

            /*
             * Code that adds elements to the hashset
             */

            return output; //this doesn't return/gives me a Compilation error 
          }

So how do I make it return the HashSet?

Answer 1

Turns out, you cannot set a return inside an if statement, otherwise it ignores it and will still ask for a return statement. Note This is only for returning HashSets. Possibly for other cases too.