With streams added in Java 8 we can write code like:

int[] example1 = list.stream().mapToInt(i->i).toArray();
// OR
int[] example2 = list.stream().mapToInt(Integer::intValue).toArray();

Thought process:

• The simple Stream#toArray returns an Object[] array, so it is not what we want. Also, Stream#toArray(IntFunction<A[]> generator) which returns A[] doesn't do what we want, because the generic type A can't represent the primitive type int

• So it would be nice to have some kind of stream which would be designed to handle primitive type int instead of the reference type like Integer, because its toArray method will most likely also return an int[] array (returning something else like Object[] or even boxed Integer[] would be unnatural for int). And fortunately Java 8 has such a stream which is IntStream

• So now the only thing we need to figure out is how to convert our Stream<Integer> (which will be returned from list.stream()) to that shiny IntStream.

  Quick searching in documentation of Stream while looking for methods which return IntStream points us to our solution which is mapToInt(ToIntFunction<? super T> mapper) method. All we need to do is provide a mapping from Integer to int.

  Since ToIntFunction is functional interface we can also provide its instance via lambda or method reference.

  Anyway to convert Integer to int we can use Integer#intValue so inside mapToInt we can write:

  mapToInt( (Integer i) -> i.intValue() )
  

  (or some may prefer: mapToInt(Integer::intValue).)

  But similar code can be generated using unboxing, since the compiler knows that the result of this lambda must be of type int (the lambda used in mapToInt is an implementation of the ToIntFunction interface which expects as body a method of type: int applyAsInt(T value) which is expected to return an int).

  So we can simply write:

  mapToInt((Integer i)->i)
  

  Also, since the Integer type in (Integer i) can be inferred by the compiler because List<Integer>#stream() returns a Stream<Integer>, we can also skip it which leaves us with

  mapToInt(i -> i)
  

Either:

Foo[] array = list.toArray(new Foo[0]);

or:

Foo[] array = new Foo[list.size()];
list.toArray(array); // fill the array

Note that this works only for arrays of reference types. For arrays of primitive types, use the traditional way:

List<Integer> list = ...;
int[] array = new int[list.size()];
for(int i = 0; i < list.size(); i++) array[i] = list.get(i);

Update:

It is recommended now to use list.toArray(new Foo[0]);, not list.toArray(new Foo[list.size()]);.

From JetBrains Intellij Idea inspection:

There are two styles to convert a collection to an array: either using a pre-sized array (like c.toArray(new String[c.size()])) or using an empty array (like c.toArray(new String[0]).

In older Java versions using pre-sized array was recommended, as the reflection call which is necessary to create an array of proper size was quite slow. However since late updates of OpenJDK 6 this call was intrinsified, making the performance of the empty array version the same and sometimes even better, compared to the pre-sized version. Also passing pre-sized array is dangerous for a concurrent or synchronized collection as a data race is possible between the size and toArray call which may result in extra nulls at the end of the array, if the collection was concurrently shrunk during the operation.

This inspection allows to follow the uniform style: either using an empty array (which is recommended in modern Java) or using a pre-sized array (which might be faster in older Java versions or non-HotSpot based JVMs).

From the javadocs:

Like the toArray() method, this method acts as bridge between array-based and collection-based APIs. Further, this method allows precise control over the runtime type of the output array, and may, under certain circumstances, be used to save allocation costs.

This means that the programmer is in control over what type of array it should be.

For example, for your ArrayList<Integer> instead of an Integer[] array you might want a Number[] or Object[] array.

Furthermore, the method also checks the array that is passed in. If you pass in an array that has enough space for all elements, the the toArray method re-uses that array. This means:

Integer[] myArray = new Integer[myList.size()];
myList.toArray(myArray);

or

Integer[] myArray = myList.toArray(new Integer[myList.size()]);

has the same effect as

Integer[] myArray = myList.toArray(new Integer[0]);

Note, in older versions of Java the latter operation used reflection to check the array type and then dynamically construct an array of the right type. By passing in a correctly sized array in the first place, reflection did not have to be used to allocate a new array inside the toArray method. That is no longer the case, and both versions can be used interchangeably.