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Thread: Returning ArrayList via user input

  1. #1
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    Default Returning ArrayList via user input

    Lets say I have multiple ArrayLists

            ArrayList<String> list01 = new ArrayList<String>();
    	ArrayList<String> list02 = new ArrayList<String>();
    	ArrayList<String> list03 = new ArrayList<String>();
    	ArrayList<String> list04 = new ArrayList<String>();

    How would I be able to return a list that the user selects? I tried something like the following but it doesn't compile as I get an incompatible types error.

    Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
    	int one = scanner.nextInt();
    	int two = scanner.nextInt();
     
    	ArrayList test = "list" + one + two;
     
    	System.out.println( test.size() );


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    Default Re: Returning ArrayList via user input

    ArrayList test = "list" + one + two;

    In Java - unlike PHP, say - you can't create variables like that.

    Instead of (or as well as) using variables list01, list02 etc, put the lists into another collection: another list for instance. Then you can get the desired index in this list-of-lists from the user and extract the actual list they want to use.

    You can hold the lists in any collection you find useful. Another alternative is a map whose keys can be used to identify the list the user wants to work with:

    Map<String,List<String>> lists = new HashMap<String,List<String>>();
     
    lists.put("name", new ArrayList<String>());
    lists.put("address", new ArrayList<String>());
    lists.put("phone", new ArrayList<String>());
     
    System.out.println("Which list do you want? (name/address/phone)");
    Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
    String choice = scanner.nextLine().toLowerCase();
    List<String> list = lists.get(choice);

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    Default Re: Returning ArrayList via user input

    I see.

    Is it possible to create a 2D array of ArrayLists? So the array item array[0][1] would return list01?

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    Default Re: Returning ArrayList via user input

    Or to avoid bringing in another container, just use a switch statement, and return an ArrayList based on the control variable.
    Please use [highlight=Java]//code goes here...[/highlight] tags when posting your code

  5. #5
    Super Moderator pbrockway2's Avatar
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    Default Re: Returning ArrayList via user input

    Is it possible to create a 2D array of ArrayLists?
    Try it and see. It turns out you can't create what the compiler calls a "generic array" of ArrayList. That's why I used a collection (list or map).

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