BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K.

Chaubey
Unit IV
Collections in Java
Collections in Java is a framework that provides an architecture for storing and managing
groups of objects. Java collections can perform all the operations you want to do on data,
like searching, sorting, inserting, manipulating, and deleting.
Java collection means a unit of objects. The Java Collection Framework provides many
features. interfaces(Set, List, Queue, Deque) and classes (ArrayList,
Vector, LinkedList, PriorityQueue, HashSet, LinkedHashSet, TreeSet).

What is Collection in Java

1
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
Methods of Collection interface
There are many methods declared in the Collection interface. They are as follows:
No. Method Description
1 public boolean add(E e) It is used to insert an element
in this collection.
2 public boolean addAll(Collection<? extends It is used to insert the
E> c) specified collection elements
in the invoking collection.
3 public boolean remove(Object element) It is used to delete an element
from the collection.
4 public boolean removeAll(Collection<?> c) It is used to delete all the
elements of the specified
collection from the invoking
collection.
5 default boolean removeIf(Predicate<? super It is used to delete all the
E> filter) elements of the collection
that satisfy the specified
predicate.
6 public boolean retainAll(Collection<?> c) It is used to delete all the
elements of invoking
collection except the
specified collection.
7 public int size() It returns the total number of
elements in the collection.
8 public void clear() It removes the total number
of elements from the
collection.
9 public boolean contains(Object element) It is used to search an
element.
10 public boolean containsAll(Collection<?> c) It is used to search the
specified collection in the
collection.
11 public Iterator iterator() It returns an iterator.
12 public Object[] toArray() It converts collection into
array.
13 public <T> T[] toArray(T[] a) It converts collection into
array. Here, the runtime type
of the returned array is that of
the specified array.
2
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
14 public boolean isEmpty() It checks if collection is
empty.
15 default Stream<E> parallelStream() It returns a possibly parallel
Stream with the collection as
its source.
16 default Stream<E> stream() It returns a sequential Stream
with the collection as its
source.
17 default Spliterator<E> spliterator() It generates a Spliterator over
the specified elements in the
collection.
18 public boolean equals(Object element) It matches two collections.
19 public int hashCode() It returns the hash code
number of the collection.

Iterator interface
Iterator interface provides the facility of iterating the elements in a forward direction only.
Methods of Iterator interface
There are only three methods in the Iterator interface. They are:
No. Method Description
1 public boolean hasNext() It returns true if the iterator has more
elements otherwise it returns false.
2 public Object next() It returns the element and moves the cursor
pointer to the next element.
3 public void remove() It removes the last elements returned by the
iterator. It is less used.

Iterable Interface
The Iterable interface is the root interface for all the collection classes. The Collection
interface extends the Iterable interface and therefore all the subclasses of Collection
interface also implement the Iterable interface.
It contains only one abstract method. i.e.,
1. Iterator<T> iterator()
It returns the iterator over the elements of type T.
Collection Interface
The Collection interface is the interface which is implemented by all the classes in the
collection framework. It declares the methods that every collection will have. In other

3
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
words, we can say that the Collection interface builds the foundation on which the collection
framework depends.
Some of the methods of Collection interface are Boolean add ( Object obj), Boolean addAll
( Collection c), void clear(), etc. which are implemented by all the subclasses of Collection
interface.
List Interface
List interface is the child interface of Collection interface. It inhibits a list type data structure
in which we can store the ordered collection of objects. It can have duplicate values.
List interface is implemented by the classes ArrayList, LinkedList, Vector, and Stack.
To instantiate the List interface, we must use :
1. List <data-type> list1= new ArrayList();
2. List <data-type> list2 = new LinkedList();
3. List <data-type> list3 = new Vector();
4. List <data-type> list4 = new Stack();
There are various methods in List interface that can be used to insert, delete, and access the
elements from the list.
The classes that implement the List interface are given below.
ArrayList
The ArrayList class implements the List interface. It uses a dynamic array to store the
duplicate element of different data types. The ArrayList class maintains the insertion order
and is non-synchronized. The elements stored in the ArrayList class can be randomly
accessed. Consider the following example.
import java.util.*;
class TestJavaCollection1{
public static void main(String args[]){
ArrayList<String> list=new ArrayList<String>();//Creating arraylist
list.add("Ravi");//Adding object in arraylist
list.add("Vijay");
list.add("Ravi");
list.add("Ajay");
//Traversing list through Iterator
Iterator itr=list.iterator();
while(itr.hasNext()){
System.out.println(itr.next());
}
}
}
Output:

4
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
Ravi
Vijay
Ravi
Ajay
LinkedList
LinkedList implements the Collection interface. It uses a doubly linked list internally to
store the elements. It can store the duplicate elements. It maintains the insertion order and
is not synchronized. In LinkedList, the manipulation is fast because no shifting is required.
Consider the following example.
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection2{
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. LinkedList<String> al=new LinkedList<String>();
5. al.add("Ravi");
6. al.add("Vijay");
7. al.add("Ravi");
8. al.add("Ajay");
9. Iterator<String> itr=al.iterator();
10. while(itr.hasNext()){
11. System.out.println(itr.next());
12. }
13. }
14. }
Output:
Ravi
Vijay
Ravi
Ajay
Vector
Vector uses a dynamic array to store the data elements. It is similar to ArrayList. However,
It is synchronized and contains many methods that are not the part of Collection framework.
Consider the following example.
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection3{
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. Vector<String> v=new Vector<String>();
5. v.add("Ayush");
6. v.add("Amit");

5
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
7. v.add("Ashish");
8. v.add("Garima");
9. Iterator<String> itr=v.iterator();
10.while(itr.hasNext()){
11.System.out.println(itr.next());
12.}
13.}
14.}
Output:
Ayush
Amit
Ashish
Garima
Stack
The stack is the subclass of Vector. It implements the last-in-first-out data structure, i.e.,
Stack. The stack contains all of the methods of Vector class and also provides its methods
like boolean push(), boolean peek(), boolean push(object o), which defines its properties.
Consider the following example.
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection4{
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. Stack<String> stack = new Stack<String>();
5. stack.push("Ayush");
6. stack.push("Garvit");
7. stack.push("Amit");
8. stack.push("Ashish");
9. stack.push("Garima");
10.stack.pop();
11.Iterator<String> itr=stack.iterator();
12.while(itr.hasNext()){
13.System.out.println(itr.next());
14.}
15.}
16.}
Output:
Ayush
Garvit
Amit
Ashish
6
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
Queue Interface
Queue interface maintains the first-in-first-out order. It can be defined as an ordered list that
is used to hold the elements which are about to be processed. There are various classes like
PriorityQueue, Deque, and ArrayDeque which implements the Queue interface.
Queue interface can be instantiated as:
1. Queue<String> q1 = new PriorityQueue();
2. Queue<String> q2 = new ArrayDeque();
There are various classes that implement the Queue interface, some of them are given below.
PriorityQueue
The PriorityQueue class implements the Queue interface. It holds the elements or objects
which are to be processed by their priorities. PriorityQueue doesn't allow null values to be
stored in the queue.
Consider the following example.
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection5{
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. PriorityQueue<String> queue=new PriorityQueue<String>();
5. queue.add("Amit Sharma");
6. queue.add("Vijay Raj");
7. queue.add("JaiShankar");
8. queue.add("Raj");
9. System.out.println("head:"+queue.element());
10.System.out.println("head:"+queue.peek());
11.System.out.println("iterating the queue elements:");
12.Iterator itr=queue.iterator();
13.while(itr.hasNext()){
14.System.out.println(itr.next());
15.}
16.queue.remove();
17.queue.poll();
18.System.out.println("after removing two elements:");
19.Iterator<String> itr2=queue.iterator();
20.while(itr2.hasNext()){
21.System.out.println(itr2.next());
22.}
23.}
24.}
Output:
head:Amit Sharma
7
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
head:Amit Sharma
iterating the queue elements:
Amit Sharma
Raj
JaiShankar
Vijay Raj
after removing two elements:
Raj
Vijay Raj
Deque Interface
Deque interface extends the Queue interface. In Deque, we can remove and add the elements
from both the side. Deque stands for a double-ended queue which enables us to perform the
operations at both the ends.
Deque can be instantiated as:
1. Deque d = new ArrayDeque();

ArrayDeque
ArrayDeque class implements the Deque interface. It facilitates us to use the Deque. Unlike
queue, we can add or delete the elements from both the ends.
ArrayDeque is faster than ArrayList and Stack and has no capacity restrictions.
Consider the following example.
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection6{
3. public static void main(String[] args) {
4. //Creating Deque and adding elements
5. Deque<String> deque = new ArrayDeque<String>();
6. deque.add("Gautam");
7. deque.add("Karan");
8. deque.add("Ajay");
9. //Traversing elements
10.for (String str : deque) {
11.System.out.println(str);
12.}
13.}
14.}
Output:
Gautam
Karan
Ajay
8
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
Set Interface
Set Interface in Java is present in java.util package. It extends the Collection interface. It
represents the unordered set of elements which doesn't allow us to store the duplicate items.
We can store at most one null value in Set. Set is implemented by HashSet, LinkedHashSet,
and TreeSet.
Set can be instantiated as:
1. Set<data-type> s1 = new HashSet<data-type>();
2. Set<data-type> s2 = new LinkedHashSet<data-type>();
3. Set<data-type> s3 = new TreeSet<data-type>();
HashSet
HashSet class implements Set Interface. It represents the collection that uses a hash table
for storage. Hashing is used to store the elements in the HashSet. It contains unique items.
Consider the following example.
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection7{
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. //Creating HashSet and adding elements
5. HashSet<String> set=new HashSet<String>();
6. set.add("Ravi");
7. set.add("Vijay");
8. set.add("Ravi");
9. set.add("Ajay");
10.//Traversing elements
11.Iterator<String> itr=set.iterator();
12.while(itr.hasNext()){
13.System.out.println(itr.next());
14.}
15.}
16.}
Output:
Vijay
Ravi
Ajay
LinkedHashSet
LinkedHashSet class represents the LinkedList implementation of Set Interface. It extends
the HashSet class and implements Set interface. Like HashSet, It also contains unique
elements. It maintains the insertion order and permits null elements.
Consider the following example.

9
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection8{
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. LinkedHashSet<String> set=new LinkedHashSet<String>();
5. set.add("Ravi");
6. set.add("Vijay");
7. set.add("Ravi");
8. set.add("Ajay");
9. Iterator<String> itr=set.iterator();
10.while(itr.hasNext()){
11.System.out.println(itr.next());
12.}
13.}
14.}
Output:
Ravi
Vijay
Ajay
SortedSet Interface
SortedSet is the alternate of Set interface that provides a total ordering on its elements. The
elements of the SortedSet are arranged in the increasing (ascending) order. The SortedSet
provides the additional methods that inhibit the natural ordering of the elements.
The SortedSet can be instantiated as:
1. SortedSet<data-type> set = new TreeSet();
TreeSet
Java TreeSet class implements the Set interface that uses a tree for storage. Like HashSet,
TreeSet also contains unique elements. However, the access and retrieval time of TreeSet is
quite fast. The elements in TreeSet stored in ascending order.
Consider the following example:
1. import java.util.*;
2. public class TestJavaCollection9{
3. public static void main(String args[]){
4. //Creating and adding elements
5. TreeSet<String> set=new TreeSet<String>();
6. set.add("Ravi");
7. set.add("Vijay");
8. set.add("Ravi");
9. set.add("Ajay");

10
BCS 403 OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMIN SYSTEM WITH JAVA Dr. P. K. Chaubey
10.//traversing elements
11.Iterator<String> itr=set.iterator();
12.while(itr.hasNext()){
13.System.out.println(itr.next());
14.}
15.}
16.}
Output:
Ajay
Ravi
Vijay

11