The ArrayList class extends AbstractList and implements the List interface.
ArrayList supports dynamic arrays that can grow as needed.
Standard Java arrays are of a fixed length. After arrays are created, they cannot grow or shrink, which means that you must know in advance how many elements an array will hold.
Array lists are created with an initial size. When this size is exceeded, the collection is automatically enlarged. When objects are removed, the array may be shrunk.
It has three constructors:
ArrayList( )
ArrayList(Collection c)
ArrayList(int capacity)
Apart from that there are so many methods inherited from its parent class.
An example Program and Output:
import java.util.*;
public class ArrayListDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// create an array list
ArrayList al = new ArrayList();
System.out.println("Initial size of al: " + al.size());
// add elements to the array list
al.add("C");
al.add("A");
al.add("E");
al.add("B");
al.add("D");
al.add("F");
al.add(1, "A2");
System.out.println("Size of al after additions: " + al.size());
// display the array list
System.out.println("Contents of al: " + al);
// Remove elements from the array list
al.remove("F");
al.remove(2);
System.out.println("Size of al after deletions: " + al.size());
System.out.println("Contents of al: " + al);
}
}
Output:
Initial size of al: 0
Size of al after additions: 7
Contents of al: [C, A2, A, E, B, D, F]
Size of al after deletions: 5
Contents of al: [C, A2, E, B, D]
Also read this:
Java Dynamic arrays
ArrayList?s/int[]/List<Integer>/g. Done!