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Java ArrayList Examples
This Java article uses the ArrayList class. ArrayList is a resizable, ordered collection of elements.ArrayList. Programs handle uncertain data.
An ArrayList accommodates extra elements, more than we might anticipate. This capability is useful.
Dynamic resizing. ArrayList runs efficiently, resizes internally, makes many programs simpler. In Java we can specify the type of elements (a class).
Create. This example creates an ArrayList. It uses diamond inference syntax on the right side. The <> characters are inferred from the left. The type is integer.
Size: We call the size() method on the ArrayList instance. This returns the number of elements in the collection.
Get: Finally we invoke the get() method, which receives the index of the element to get. We loop over each index. We repeatedly call get.
Based on:
Java 7
Java program that uses ArrayList
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create new ArrayList.
ArrayList<Integer> elements = new ArrayList<>();
// Add three elements.
elements.add(10);
elements.add(15);
elements.add(20);
// Get size and display.
int count = elements.size();
System.out.println("Count: " + count);
// Loop through elements.
for (int i = 0; i < elements.size(); i++) {
int value = elements.get(i);
System.out.println("Element: " + value);
}
}
}
Output
Count: 3
Element: 10
Element: 15
Element: 20
For-loop. We can use a simpler syntax to loop over elements. We use the colon instead of an iteration variable. This improves readability. But it reduces flexibility in the loop.
Tip: In most program contexts, the simplest loop possible is preferable. It is best to avoid unnecessary iteration variables.
Java program that loops over ArrayList
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create ArrayList and add three Integers.
ArrayList<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(10);
list.add(20);
list.add(30);
// Display values.
for (int value : list) {
System.out.println(value);
}
}
}
Output
10
20
30
IndexOf. We use the indexOf and lastIndexOf methods to find indexes. IndexOf searches from the beginning. LastIndexOf searches from the end.
Here: The ArrayList contains two elements with the value 100. IndexOf finds the first one. LastIndexOf finds the second.
Caution: When using indexOf() and lastIndexOf() it is important to test for -1. Exceptions may occur if we omit this test.
Java program that uses indexOf, lastIndexOf
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(101);
list.add(100);
list.add(99);
list.add(100);
list.add(99);
// Search for values.
int index = list.indexOf(100);
int lastIndex = list.lastIndexOf(100);
int notFound = list.indexOf(200);
// Display results.
System.out.println(index); // 1
System.out.println(lastIndex); // 3
System.out.println(notFound); // -1
}
}
Output
1
3
-1
Set element. To assign to a position, we use set. The index must be valid. The ArrayList must already contain a reference at the index. When set() succeeds, the new element is stored.
Note: We cannot use the same syntax as an array to set an element. We must instead use get() or set() to access elements at indexes.
Java program that uses set
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create an ArrayList.
ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add("Venus"); // [0]
list.add("Mars"); // [1]
list.add("Earth"); // [2]
// Set index 0 to a new String.
list.set(0, "Saturn");
for (String value : list) {
System.out.println(value);
}
}
}
Output
Saturn
Mars
Earth
Clear, isEmpty. An empty ArrayList has no elements. When we call clear() on an ArrayList, it will become empty. This method is useful when we want to reuse an existing ArrayList.
IsEmpty: This method returns true if the ArrayList has zero elements. It is equivalent to testing size() >0 in an expression.
Java program that uses clear, isEmpty
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create a new ArrayList.
ArrayList<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>();
// Add one element.
list.add(1);
// This prints false: it is not empty.
System.out.println(list.isEmpty());
// Clear ArrayList.
list.clear();
// It is now empty.
if (list.isEmpty()) {
System.out.println("Empty");
}
}
}
Output
false
Empty
SubList. This returns a view of the ArrayList. We pass the subList method two arguments: the first index and the last index of the view we want to use. This view is returned as a List.
Loop: We can loop over the sub-list, or access its elements, using a zero-based index. So the first element in the sub-list is at index 0.
Set: If we set an element in the sub-list to a value, this is reflected in the original list. The indexes are automatically translated.
Java program that uses subList
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// ... Add five integers to an ArrayList.
ArrayList<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(5);
list.add(10);
list.add(15);
list.add(20);
list.add(25);
// ... Get sub list from 1 to 3.
List<Integer> sub = list.subList(1, 3);
// ... Display sub list.
for (int value : sub) {
System.out.println(value);
}
// ... Set the first element in "sub" to -1.
// This is reflected in the original ArrayList.
sub.set(0, -1);
System.out.println(list.get(1));
}
}
Output
10
15
-1
ToArray. The toArray method copies an ArrayList's elements to an array. It has two versions—one returns an Object array and requires casting. This version, though, returns a typed array.
Tip: The toArray method will allocate a new array and return its reference unless it receives a large enough array.
So: We use toArray by passing it an empty array of the matching type. It then returns a correctly-sized array.
Java that uses toArray
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(7);
list.add(8);
list.add(9);
// Create an empty array and pass to toArray.
Integer[] array = {};
array = list.toArray(array);
// Our array now has the ArrayList's elements.
for (int elem : array) {
System.out.println(elem);
}
}
}
Output
7
8
9
Method argument. An ArrayList can be passed as an argument to another method. This modifies an ArrayList in many places without copying. We can share one ArrayList among many methods.
Here: I define an addCats method that receives an ArrayList. This method allocates no new objects.
Instead: The addCats method operates on an existing ArrayList. In a complex program, reusing an ArrayList is often a performance win.
Java that uses method, ArrayList
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
static void addCats(ArrayList<String> list) {
list.add("Fluffy");
list.add("Max");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<>();
// Call method and pass ArrayList as argument.
addCats(list);
for (String value : list) {
System.out.println(value);
}
}
}
Output
Fluffy
Max
Custom class elements. An ArrayList can use built-in types like Strings or Integers. But we can also place user-defined classes in one. Here I create a Philosopher class and use it.
ToString: In the for-loop, we display all the Philosopher objects. The System.out.println method internally uses toString.
Tip: With ArrayLists and object references in classes, we construct complex models for programs.
Java that uses objects, ArrayList
import java.util.ArrayList;
class Philosopher {
public int value;
public String name;
public Philosopher(int value, String name) {
this.value = value;
this.name = name;
}
public String toString() {
return "value = " + this.value + ", name = " + this.name;
}
}
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create an ArrayList of objects.
ArrayList<Philosopher> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(new Philosopher(1, "Socrates"));
list.add(new Philosopher(2, "Plato"));
// Display our objects.
for (Philosopher p : list) {
System.out.println(p);
}
}
}
Output
value = 1, name = Socrates
value = 2, name = Plato
Collections.min, max. Many static methods in the Collections class can be used on an ArrayList. Here we use two simple ones: min and max.
Min: This scans the entire collection (an ArrayList) and returns the value of the smallest element.
Max: This returns the highest value in the collection. No loop syntax is needed.
Java that uses Collections.min, max
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create ArrayList.
ArrayList<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(10);
list.add(1);
list.add(100);
list.add(5);
// Min and max.
int minimum = Collections.min(list);
int maximum = Collections.max(list);
System.out.println(minimum);
System.out.println(maximum);
}
}
Output
1
100
Collections.sort. We can sort an ArrayList with this method. We first import java.util.Collections into our program. This method sorts in ascending (low to high) order.
In-place: Collections.sort operates in-place. The original collection is modified and no value is returned.
Java that uses Collections.sort
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add("cat");
list.add("bird");
list.add("ant");
list.add("dog");
// Sort the elements alphabetically.
Collections.sort(list);
for (String value : list) {
System.out.println(value);
}
}
}
Output
ant
bird
cat
dog
Collections.addAll. With this we add many elements to an ArrayList at once. The second argument is either an array of the elements to add, or those elements as arguments.
Here: We add three elements from an array to an ArrayList. We then add two more elements with addAll.
Java that uses Collections.addAll
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<Integer> values = new ArrayList<>();
Integer[] array = { 10, 20, 30 };
// Add all elements in array to ArrayList.
Collections.addAll(values, array);
// Display.
for (int value : values) {
System.out.print(value);
System.out.print(" ");
}
System.out.println();
// Add more elements.
Collections.addAll(values, 40, 50);
// Display.
for (int value : values) {
System.out.print(value);
System.out.print(" ");
}
}
}
Output
10 20 30
10 20 30 40 50
Static field. Often programs need a global store of data. A global or static ArrayList can help. This may cause problems with many threads, but for simple programs it works well.
Tip: As a public static field, the ArrayList can be used in any method, without the need to pass it around as an argument.
Tip 2: An ArrayList also works as an instance field. This is better if separate collections are required.
Java that uses static ArrayList
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Program {
static ArrayList<Integer> values = new ArrayList<>();
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Use static ArrayList.
values.add(10);
values.add(100);
System.out.println(values.size());
// Use static ArrayList in another method.
addMore();
System.out.println(values.size());
}
static void addMore() {
values.add(1000);
}
}
Output
2
3
Vector. This is an older Java collection with behavior similar to ArrayList. It has been updated over the years to have modern syntax. Vector is thread-safe, but this reduces speed.
File lines. We read the lines of a text file with the BufferedReader class. Then we can place these lines into an ArrayList with the add method. This caches the file in memory.
Remove duplicates. We can develop a method to remove duplicate Strings (or other values) from an ArrayList. Internally the method uses a HashSet.
Convert ArrayList, string. Sometimes programs want a single, flat string that contains elements. We can convert an ArrayList to a string with join().
Ordered, linear collections are commonly needed. Programs often store elements in ArrayList instances. And this type provides diverse, powerful methods.