Collections in Java
The Backbone of Test Frameworks
Key collection interfaces?
• List - Ordered collection, allows duplicates
• Set - Unordered, no duplicates
• Map - Key-value pairs
• Queue - FIFO structure
Common classes used in automation?
• Array List - Store Web Elements, input sets
• HashMap - Hold config, headers, key-values
• HashSet - Validate uniqueness (e.g., dropdowns)
• LinkedList - Used in queue-based flows
Why Collections/Arrays utils?
• Collections: sorting, thread-safe wrappers,
min/max
• Arrays: array-to-list conversion, sorting primitives
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Selenium Automation Use Cases
Why prefer ArrayList in Selenium?
• Works with findElements(), stores dynamic
WebElements
• Fast index-based access for loops
How to store elements from findElements()?
• Use List<WebElement> to loop through elements
List<WebElement> elements = driver.findElements(By.tagName("button"));
for (WebElement btn : elements) {
System.out.println(btn.getText());
}
How to map test steps or locators?
• Use Map<String, By> to map locator keys to
locators
Where is Set used in Selenium?
• For window handles
• To validate uniqueness in dropdowns
How to manage test data in DDT?
• Map<String, String> for a single test row
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• List<Map<String, String>> for all test rows
How to remove duplicates from test data?
• Store values in a Set to auto-remove duplicates
How to remove duplicates from a List?
List<String> unique = new ArrayList<>(new HashSet<>(originalList));
How to maintain insertion order in tests?
• Use LinkedHashSet or LinkedHashMap
When to use Deque in browser tests?
• Simulate browser back/forward actions
Deque<String> navStack = new ArrayDeque<>();
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API Testing with Collections
How to pass headers in API calls?
• Use Map<String, String> to construct headers
• Easily reusable across requests (auth, content-
type)
• Works well with REST Assured .headers() method
Map<String, String> headers = new HashMap<>();
headers.put("Authorization", "Bearer token");
headers.put("Content-Type", "application/json");
How to build dynamic JSON payloads?
• Use Map<String, Object> to simulate JSON object
• Useful for user creation, updates, login payloads
• Allows flexible key-value insertions based on test
case
Map<String, Object> user = new HashMap<>();
user.put("id", 101);
user.put("name", "Priya");
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How to represent a JSON array of objects?
• Use List<Map<String, Object>> for multiple user-
like objects
• Simulates payloads like [{...}, {...}]
• Ideal for bulk creation APIs or multi-record
validation
List<Map<String, Object>> users = new ArrayList<>();users.add(user);
How to extract a list from API response?
• Use .getList() with JsonPath for list values
• Handy for validating response IDs, emails, names
• Supports direct assertions or further processing
List<String> ids = response.jsonPath().getList("users.id");
How to validate uniqueness in API results?
• Convert list to Set and compare size
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• Quick way to detect duplicates in ID, email, etc.
• Works well in response validations or assertions
Set<String> unique = new HashSet<>(emails);
assert emails.size() == unique.size();
How to handle multiple API responses?
• Store each response in a Map<String, Response>
• Label by test step or API endpoint
• Helps when chaining token generation → user
access → validations
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Data Mapping & Configuration
How to store config or environment data?
Map<String, String> config = new HashMap<>();
config.put("baseUrl", "https://api.example.com");
Where are Maps commonly used in frameworks?
• Step names, locator mapping, config, headers
How to convert between List, Set, and Map?
Set<T> s = new HashSet<>(list);
List<T> l = new ArrayList<>(set);
List<K> keys = new ArrayList<>(map.keySet());
How to iterate a Map with key-value pairs?
for (Map.Entry<String, String> entry : map.entrySet()) {
System.out.println(entry.getKey() + ": " + entry.getValue());
}
When to use TreeMap or TreeSet?
• TreeMap - When keys need to be sorted
• TreeSet - When values must be unique and sorted
How HashMap differs from LinkedHashMap?
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• HashMap - Fast, no order guarantee
• LinkedHashMap - Maintains insertion order
Thread Safety & Concurrency
How to make Collections thread-safe?
• Use Collections.synchronizedList()
• Use thread-safe collections for multi-threaded
tests
When to use ConcurrentHashMap in tests?
• When sharing data like tokens across threads
How to use CopyOnWriteArrayList in tests?
• Thread-safe alternative to ArrayList
• Good for read-heavy test scenarios
• Safe to iterate even when modified by other
threads
List<String> list = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
list.add("email1@example.com");
list.add("email2@example.com");
for (String email : list) { System.out.println(email);
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