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Thread: ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

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    Default ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

    Hi.

    I created a simple test list while studying ArrayList. For some reason (some obvious i guess) i cant remove objects from list.
    There is tiny class Person with some values, which are added to arraylist. Everything else works, except when i try to remove first occurance of "Pekka". Nothing happens and .remove returns false.

    import java.util.*;
     
    public class MyArrayList2 {
    	public static class Person {
    		private String name;
    		private int id;
     
    		public Person(String name, int id) {
    			this.name = name;
    			this.id = id;
    		}
     
    		public String getName() {
    			return this.name;
    		}
    		public String toString() {
    			return name;
    		}
    	}
     
     
    	public static void main(String[] args) {
    		// Create a list from class Person
    		ArrayList<Person> henkilot = new ArrayList<Person>();
     
    		// Adding few Persons to list
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Maija", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Pekka", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Marko", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Pekka", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Pekka", henkilot.size() + 1));
     
    		// Trying to remove first occurance with name "Pekka"
    		System.out.println(henkilot.remove("Pekka"));
     
    		// Printing out the list
    		System.out.println(henkilot.toString());
     
    	}
    }

    Output is:
    false
    [Maija, Pekka, Marko, Pekka, Pekka]

    Java is:
    java version "1.7.0_55"
    Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_55-b13)
    Java HotSpot(TM) Server VM (build 24.55-b03, mixed mode)
    Last edited by E.K.Virtanen; May 26th, 2014 at 12:39 PM. Reason: Solved


  2. #2
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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem.

    Your list contains elements of type "Person" but what you are trying to remove is an element of type "String".
    Since the list does not contain any strings it can not remove them either.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem.

    The remove() method is looking for a String object: "Pekka" in the ArrayList, but the ArrayList contains Person objects so it doesn't find anything to remove.
    If you want to find a Person object that contains the String: "Pekka" you will need to iterate through the list testing each Person object to see if it contains that String and then remove the object that has the String.
    If you don't understand my answer, don't ignore it, ask a question.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem.

    Ok. I _thougth_ that toString method at class would do the work.
    I stop guessing a go with iterating Thanks for help.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

    The remove method uses the "equals(Object)" method of your objects. You can overwrite the equals method to check for equality with strings. If you do, you do not need to iterate over the entries and can rely on the list doing the work for you.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

    overwrite the equals method to check for equality with strings.
    @Cornix Do you have some test code that shows what you are saying?
    If you don't understand my answer, don't ignore it, ask a question.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

    I was thinking about something like this:
    	public static class Person {
    		private String name;
    		private int id;
     
    		public Person(String name, int id) {
    			this.name = name;
    			this.id = id;
    		}
     
    		public String getName() {
    			return this.name;
    		}
    		public String toString() {
    			return name;
    		}
    		public boolean equals(Object obj) {
    			if (obj instanceof String) {
    				return obj.equals(toString());
    			}
    			return obj == this;
    		}
    	}
    This should enable the OP to remove persons from the list by calling the remove method with a string as argument as long as the string matches the name of the person.


    Edit: Just checked the documentation for the list interface again, this does not work. The list will use the equals method from the object passed as argument to the remove method and not the implementation of the objects contained in the list. Bummer.
    I guess this is a question of personal preference, but I would have preferred it to use the equals method of the contained objects.
    Last edited by Cornix; May 26th, 2014 at 02:59 PM.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

    Just checked the documentation for the list interface again, this does not work.
    That should be BOLD so it stands out.
    If you don't understand my answer, don't ignore it, ask a question.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

    A few days late, but...

    Edit: Just checked the documentation for the list interface again, this does not work. The list will use the equals method from the object passed as argument to the remove method and not the implementation of the objects contained in the list. Bummer.
    I guess this is a question of personal preference, but I would have preferred it to use the equals method of the contained objects.
    Check the contract for the equals method of the Object class...
    It is symmetric: for any non-null reference values x and y, x.equals(y) should return true if and only if y.equals(x) returns true.

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    Default Re: ArrayList.remove() problem. (solved)

    This is not the most elegant way, but gives the idea how i decided to solve it. I loop through arraylist until condition comes true, then remove object from arraylist with correct reference.
    import java.util.*;
     
     
    public class MyArrayList2 {
    	public static class Person {
    		private String name;
    		private int id;
     
    		public Person(String name, int id) {
    			this.name = name;
    			this.id = id;
    		}
     
    		public String getName() {
    			return this.name;
    		}
    		public String toString() {
    			return name;
    		}
    	}
     
     
    	public static void main(String[] args) {
    		// Create a list from class Person
    		ArrayList<Person> henkilot = new ArrayList<Person>();
     
    		// Adding few Persons to list
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Maija", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Pekka", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Marko", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Pekka", henkilot.size() + 1));
    		henkilot.add(new Person("Pekka", henkilot.size() + 1));
     
    		// Printing out the original list
    		System.out.println(henkilot.toString());
     
    		// removing first occurance of pekka
    		for(Person name: henkilot) {
    			if(name.toString().equals("Pekka")) {
    				//System.out.println("Pekka löytys");
    				System.out.println(henkilot.remove(name));
    				break;
    			}
    		}
     
    		// Printing out the modified list
    		System.out.println(henkilot.toString());
    	}
    }

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