Java ArrayList
Java ArrayList
The ArrayList class is a resizable array, which can be found in the java.util package.
The difference between a built-in array and an ArrayList in Java, is that the size of an array cannot be modified (if you want to
add or remove elements to/from an array, you have to create a new one). While elements can be added and removed from an ArrayList whenever you want. The syntax is also slightly different:
Example
Create an ArrayList object called cars that will store strings:
import java.util.ArrayList; // import the ArrayList class
ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>(); // Create an ArrayList object
If you don't know what a package is, read our Java Packages Tutorial.
Add Items
The ArrayList class has many useful methods. For example, to add elements to the
list, use the add() method:
Example
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>();
cars.add("Volvo");
cars.add("BMW");
cars.add("Ford");
cars.add("Mazda");
System.out.println(cars);
}
}You can also add an item at a specified position by referring to the index number:
Example
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>();
cars.add("Volvo");
cars.add("BMW");
cars.add("Ford");
cars.add(0, "Mazda"); // Insert element at the beginning of the list (0)
System.out.println(cars);
}
}Remember: Array indexes start with 0: [0] is the first element. [1] is the second element, etc.
Access an Item
To access an element in the ArrayList, use the get() method and refer to the index number:
Change an Item
To modify an element, use the set() method
and refer to the index number:
Remove an Item
To remove an element, use the remove() method
and refer to the index number:
To remove all the elements in the ArrayList, use the clear() method:
ArrayList Size
To find out how many elements an ArrayList have, use the size method:
Loop Through an ArrayList
Loop through the elements of an ArrayList with a for loop, and use the
size() method to specify how many times the loop should run:
Example
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>();
cars.add("Volvo");
cars.add("BMW");
cars.add("Ford");
cars.add("Mazda");
for (int i = 0; i < cars.size(); i++) {
System.out.println(cars.get(i));
}
}
}
You can also loop through an ArrayList with the for-each loop:
Example
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>();
cars.add("Volvo");
cars.add("BMW");
cars.add("Ford");
cars.add("Mazda");
for (String i : cars) {
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}
Other Types
Elements in an ArrayList are actually objects. In the examples above, we created elements
(objects) of type "String". Remember that a String in Java is an object (not a primitive type). To use other types, such as int, you must specify an equivalent wrapper class: Integer. For other primitive types,
use: Boolean for boolean, Character for char, Double for double,
etc:
Example
Create an ArrayList to store numbers (add elements of type Integer):
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<Integer> myNumbers = new ArrayList<Integer>();
myNumbers.add(10);
myNumbers.add(15);
myNumbers.add(20);
myNumbers.add(25);
for (int i : myNumbers) {
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}
Sort an ArrayList
Another useful class in the java.util package is the Collections class, which include the sort() method for sorting lists
alphabetically or numerically:
Example
Sort an ArrayList of Strings:
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections; // Import the Collections class
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>();
cars.add("Volvo");
cars.add("BMW");
cars.add("Ford");
cars.add("Mazda");
Collections.sort(cars); // Sort cars
for (String i : cars) {
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}
Example
Sort an ArrayList of Integers:
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections; // Import the Collections class
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList<Integer> myNumbers = new ArrayList<Integer>();
myNumbers.add(33);
myNumbers.add(15);
myNumbers.add(20);
myNumbers.add(34);
myNumbers.add(8);
myNumbers.add(12);
Collections.sort(myNumbers); // Sort myNumbers
for (int i : myNumbers) {
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}
Complete ArrayList Reference
For a complete reference of ArrayList methods, go to our Java ArrayList Reference.
