array problem

hello,
i am new to java and im trying to solve some problems i found on the net
my objective is to read a file that contain:
"5
3: 5 8 3
2: 2 99
7: 5 3 7 3 3 66 88
2: 2 4
4: 2 5 7 3"

the 5 is the number of arrays
the numbers 3, 2, 7, 2, 4 are the number of elements in each of their respective arrays
ie: array number 1 has a size of 3 and contain 5 8 3

i need to write a code that takes first the number as to create 5 arrays, and then to put in each array their respective elements

in other words my goal is to have 5 arrays with each array their elements
i did it assuming these numbers were fixed, i assigned each array their element but i want a way to do it if to say i want to do it for another file, that has the same format, so this file in here is not a constant

i tried to make it by using 2d array but i messed up big time
so if someone can help me with it i would appreciate it
also it would be great if 2d array was used as i want to get used to it

thanks in advance

post some code of the 2d array you attempted and some code of what you have now. It is hard to help you if we do not know how much you have already done.

Code Java:

---

import java.util.Arrays;
 
public class testing
{
    public static void main (String[] args)
    {
        int[] list1 = {5, 8, 3};
        int[] list2 = {2, 99};
        int[] list3 = {5, 3, 7, 3, 3, 66, 88};
        int[] list4 = {2, 4};
        int[] list5 = {2, 5, 7, 3};
 
        int[] listN = new int [list1.length + list2.length + list3.length + list4.length + list5.length];
 
        for ( int i = 0; i < list1.length; i++)
        {
            listN [i] = list1 [i];
        }
        for ( int i = 0; i < list2.length; i++)
        {
            listN [list1.length + i] = list2 [i];
        }
        for ( int i = 0; i < list3.length; i++)
        {
            listN [list1.length + list2.length + i] = list3 [i];
        }
        for ( int i = 0; i < list4.length; i++)
        {
            listN [list1.length + list2.length + list3.length + i] = list4 [i];
        }
        for ( int i = 0; i < list5.length; i++)
        {
            listN [list1.length + list2.length + list3.length + list4.length + i] = list5 [i];
        }
 
        Arrays.sort(listN);
        System.out.println(Arrays.toString(listN));
    }
}

---

this was when i first tested to prove my logic, and it worked

and this is when i want it as i mentioned above

Code Java:

---

import java.util.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.Arrays;
 
public class Problem3
{
    public static void createArrays (String[] filename) throws FileNotFoundException
    {
         Scanner input = new Scanner (new File (filename[0]));
 
         int N = input.nextInt();
         int arrays [][] = new int [N][];
 
         for ( int i = 0; i < N; i++)
         {
             arrays [N][i] = new []
             input.nextLine();
         }
    }
}

---

now as you can see inside the for loop i want the length to be read from the file that i will specify in the parameter

"arrays [N][i] = new []" i tried to out "input.nextInt()" inside the two empty brackets here but it didnt work, i figured it it did work, i would have it inside and then write "input.nextLine()" to go on to the next line and take the int again and create the length of the second array

hope this helps

When you want to initialize an array with values, you must use this syntax:

Code Java:

---

int[] myArray = new int[] {1, 2, 3}; // initialize a length 3 array with values 1, 2, 3

---

However, if you're reading the values from a file, it's better to initialize the array to all 0 and the correct length because you have no idea what those values may be.

Code Java:

---

// somehow you got an int variable called length from the file. I suggest using a Scanner object.
int[] myArray = new int[length];

---

Then you can populate the array with the indexing method.

Code Java:

---

myArray[0] = 1; // obviously you would replace 1 with a value you read from the array
myArray[myArray.length - 1] = 2; // the last element in the array

---

well but the problem is that i need to write the elements of an array from the file itself, no me assigning each element with its number
i want it to read the file and put it itself