Lists and the Collection Interface

Chapter 4
2
The List Interface and ArrayList Class
So far, all we have is an array for storing a collection of
elements.
An array is an indexed structure: can select its elements
in arbitrary order using a subscript value
Elements may be accessed in sequence using a loop
that increments the subscript
You cannot
Increase or decrease the length
Add an element at a specified position without shifting
the other elements to make room
Remove an element at a specified position without
shifting other elements to fill in the resulting gap
3
The List Interface
Some of the allowed operations on the List interface
(java.util.List) include:
Finding a specified target
Adding an element to either end or in the middle
Removing an item from either end or from the middle
Traversing the list structure without a subscript
Not all classes implementing the List interface perform
the allowed operations with the same degree of
efficiency

4
The List Interface and ArrayList Class
5
The ArrayList Class
Simplest class that implements the List interface
Improvement over an array object
expandable! (ans shrinkable!)
Mostly used when a programmer wants to add new
elements to the end of a list but still needs the capability
to access the elements stored in the list in arbitrary order

How to construct and ArrayList?
ArrayList myList = new ArrayList();
//each element is an Object


6
The ArrayList Class
How to construct and ArrayList? (Java 5.0)
ArrayList<String> myList = new ArrayList<String>();
//each element is a String


7
The ArrayList Class
size
int s = myList.size(); //returns 4 for the ArrayList below

8
The ArrayList Class
Add at a specified index
myList.add(2, Doc);
Add at the end
myList.add(Dopey);


9
The ArrayList Class
Illegal if index > size()
myList.add(8, Doc);

10
The ArrayList Class (continued)
Remove at a certain index
myList.remove(1);

11
The ArrayList Class (continued)
cannot index like an array
myList[i] ! //illegal
use
myList.get(i);
myList.set(2, Sneezy);
myList.set(6, Sneezy); //illegal if index > size()-1


12
The ArrayList Class (continued)
Search using
myList.indexOf(Sneezy); // returns 2
myList.indexOf(Jumpy); // returns -1
13
Specification of the ArrayList Class
14
Application of ArrayList
The ArrayList gives you additional capability beyond
what an array provides
For Java 1.4.2
ArrayList stores items of type Object and can thus
store an object of any class
You cannot store values of the primitive types directly
but must instead use wrapper classes
Example??
When an object is stored in an ArrayList, the
programmer must remember the original type
String entry = (String) myList.get(1);
15
Application of ArrayList
For Java 5.0 and higher:
You cannot store values of the primitive types directly but must
instead use wrapper classes. However,
autoboxing/autounboxing are in effect
ArrayList <Integer> B = new ArrayList<Integer>();
B.add(42); //autoboxing
int temp = B.get(0); //autounboxing

No casting required when retrieving from the ArrayList
ArrayList<String> C = new ArrayList<String>();
C.add(Hello);
String entry = myList.get(0);
16
Recall PhoneDirectory?
Instance variable theDirectory
private DirectoryEntry [ ] theDirectory = new DirectoryEntry[capacity];

ArrayBased addOrChangeEntry method
public String addOrChangeEntry(String name, String number) {
String oldNumber = null;
int index = find(name);
if (index > -1) {
oldNumber = theDirectory[index].getNumber();
theDirectory[index].setNumber(number);
}
else {
add(name, number);
}
modified = true;
return oldNumber;
}

17
Using an ArrayList in PhoneDirectory
Instance variable theDirectory
private ArrayList<DirectoryEntry> theDirectory = new ArrayList<DirectoryEntry>();

addOrChangeEntry method

public String addOrChangeEntry(String name, String number) {
String oldNumber = null;
int index = theDirectory.indexOf(new DirectoryEntry(name, ));
//assuming DirectoryEntry class has an equals method that compares entries by name
if (index != -1) {
DirectoryEntry de = theDirectory.get(index);
oldNumber = de.getNumber();
de.setNumber(number);
}
else {
theDirectory.add(new DirectoryEntry(name, number));
}
modified = true;
return oldNumber;
}

18
Assignment #1 (Due Thursday, Sep 24)
Design and implement the Programming Project #2
described at the end of Chapter 1 (page 56), using an
ArrayList as the underlying storage.

Provide UML diagrams for your design.

Document your code well.

Place all your file under a directory called
YourNameHW1 and zip the directory. Email a single
zipped file to fatalay@sju.edu
Submit a hardcopy of your code together with your UML
diagram in class on the due date.
19
Implementation of an ArrayList Class
KWArrayList: simple implementation of a ArrayList class
Physical size of array indicated by data field capacity
Number of data items indicated by the data field size
20
Implementation of an ArrayList Class
(continued)
21
Performance of KWArrayList and the Vector
Class
Set and get methods execute in constant time
Inserting or removing elements is linear time
Initial release of Java API contained the Vector class
which has similar functionality to the ArrayList
Both contain the same methods
New applications should use ArrayList rather than Vector