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:
Answer from Eng.Fouad on Stack OverflowThere 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).
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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).
An alternative in Java 8:
String[] strings = list.stream().toArray(String[]::new);
Since Java 11:
String[] strings = list.toArray(String[]::new);
Yes it is safe to convert an ArrayList to an Array. Whether it is a good idea depends on your intended use. Do you need the operations that ArrayList provides? If so, keep it an ArrayList. Else convert away!
ArrayList<Integer> foo = new ArrayList<Integer>();
foo.add(1);
foo.add(1);
foo.add(2);
foo.add(3);
foo.add(5);
Integer[] bar = foo.toArray(new Integer[foo.size()]);
System.out.println("bar.length = " + bar.length);
outputs
bar.length = 5
This is the best way (IMHO).
List<String> myArrayList = new ArrayList<String>();
//.....
String[] myArray = myArrayList.toArray(new String[myArrayList.size()]);
This code works also:
String[] myArray = myArrayList.toArray(new String[0]);
But it less effective: the string array is created twice: first time zero-length array is created, then the real-size array is created, filled and returned. So, if since you know the needed size (from list.size()) you should create array that is big enough to put all elements. In this case it is not re-allocated.
Hello, I am looking to copy all the contents of my integer ArrayList to a completely new int array so it can be returned and displayed on the console.
My method return type is int[] so I am trying to figure out how to copy my ArrayList to a new array, I feel this is something very simple so I might be overthinking but any help would be beneficial.
You can use the following instruction:
new ArrayList<>(Arrays.asList(array));
Given:
Element[] array = new Element[] { new Element(1), new Element(2), new Element(3) };
The simplest answer is to do:
List<Element> list = Arrays.asList(array);
This will work fine. But some caveats:
- The list returned from asList has fixed size. So, if you want to be able to add or remove elements from the returned list in your code, you'll need to wrap it in a new
ArrayList. Otherwise you'll get anUnsupportedOperationException. - The list returned from
asList()is backed by the original array. If you modify the original array, the list will be modified as well. This may be surprising.
You don't need to reinvent the wheel, here's the toArray() method:
String []dsf = new String[al.size()];
al.toArray(dsf);
List<String> list=new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("sravan");
list.add("vasu");
list.add("raki");
String names[]=list.toArray(new String[list.size()])