*/
  @SuppressWarnings("unchecked") // all supported methods are covariant
  public static <E> ImmutableMultiset<E> of() {
    return (ImmutableMultiset<E>) RegularImmutableMultiset.EMPTY;
  }

  /**
   * Returns an immutable multiset containing a single element.
   *
   * @throws NullPointerException if the element is null
   * @since 6.0 (source-compatible since 2.0)
   */