We Keep Coding

Removing null values from array and getting it from the method in Java

I'm trying to remove null values from an array, and returning them to do some other stuff with the new values. However, I'm confused about how to get the updated array.
This is the null removal code.
String[] removeNull(String[] nullArray) {
int nullCounter = 0;
//checking if any is null
for(int i = 0; i < nullArray.length; i++) {
if(nullArray[i]==null) {
nullCounter++;
}
}
String[] noNulls = new String[nullArray.length-nullCounter];
if(nullCounter>0) {
//make a non null array
for(int i = 0, j = 0; i <noNulls.length; i++) {
if(nullArray[i]!=null) {
noNulls[j] = nullArray[i];
j++;
}
}
}
return noNulls;
}
I'm pretty sure that is already correct (Please correct me if I'm wrong). Then, I called it inside a constructor.
public theBoundary(String[] bounds){
removeNull(bounds);
}
After I called removeNull(bounds), will the value of the new array be stored in the array bounds? Or will it be stored in the array noNull? I can't seem to find where the new values are stored.
Thank you, and please tell me if there are mistakes. I've been going around this for half an hour now.
Note: If possible, please don't give me answers that include importing something else. Vanilla Java would be preferred.

removeNull() returns the array noNulls, created inside the method. Currently, in theBoundary(), you simply call removeNull(bounds), but do not assign it to a variable. The newly created null-free array is created, not assigned, and immediately garbage collected.
If you wish to do something with your non-null-containing array (which I assume you do), do this:
public theBoundary(String[] bounds) {
String[] withoutNulls = removeNull(bounds);
doSomething(withoutNulls); // whatever you need here
}
Note, unless you really have to use an array, consider using a List or even a Stream.
List example:
List<String> list = ... // from somewhere else
list.removeIf(s -> s == null);
doSomething(list);
Stream example:
Stream<String> stream = ... //from somewhere else
stream.filter(s -> s != null);
doSomething(stream);
EDIT
Even if you do really need arrays, the following will also work:
String[] noNulls = (String[]) Arrays.stream(inputArray).filter(Objects::nonNull).toArray();

I don't think there is any need to iterate the array twice!
You can instead use a stream on array and filter the indexes without that are NOT NULL.
Also, you can do this without needing to create the removeNull method, and do this directly in your theBoundary method.
Here is how your code will look like:
String[] arrayWithoutNull = Arrays.stream(bounds).filter(Objects::nonNull).toArray(String[]::new)
I hope this solves your problem.

Do you mean this?
public theBoundary(String[] bounds){
String[] cleanedBounds = removeNull(bounds);
}
You are not doing it inplace so you need to assign it back to a new array

text based undo function in java

I'm trying to figure out how to get a undo function for a small maze game. First I worked out a way to do this by checking what the last direction was and just going back in the opposite direction. But this code was getting way too long since I also had to track back possible item pickups or hidden walls etc.
Background info on the code: I use a String[][] to store the maze as this was the easiest. I use an Arraylist<String[][]> to store all the strings.
After each step the player takes I save the String[][] array to the arraylist. When the player say undo I look at the second last String[][] in the arraylist and want to set the String[][] back to this. But the currentPos never seems to get updated. I'm not sure where the problem lies.
if (direction.equals("north")) {
if (currentPos[i - 1][j].equals("---")) {
continue;
} else {
currentPos[i][j] = " ";
currentPos[i - 2][j] = "P";
break;
}
}
if (direction.equals("undo")) {
currentPos = history.get(history.size()-2);
history.remove(history.size()-1);
break;
}

Without understanding the way you are setting history, I've made the assumption from your question that you are simply adding the current map to the history list. If you aren't careful, you will be simply adding the same Object, populating the history with multiply Object references to the current map state. This would have the effect you are observing with the state not changing, because you the history only contains a reference to the most recent map (Not storing any actual history).
To obtain the value from an Object, you typically need to clone the object (invoking the clone() method). However, cloning a 2-dimensional array is somewhat problematic. Invoking the clone() method on a 2-dimensional array "shallow" clones the object, essentially only cloning the first dimension while leaving the second as a reference to the same object (The reason for this is that the first 1-dimension of the array holds a reference to the second 1-dimension). Changing the value on a shallow copied object will change the value of the original and vice-versa, not what you want if you want to keep the Objects distinct.
To create two distinct objects, you will need to perform a "deep" clone, which can be easily implemented in a helper method. The below code illustrates the importance of ensuring you fully clone the object before storing it in the history list.
public static void main (String args[]) throws Exception {
ArrayList<String[][]> list = new ArrayList<>();
String[][] shallowClonedMap = new String[1][1];
String[][] deepClonedMap = new String[1][1];
shallowClonedMap[0][0] = "Old";
deepClonedMap[0][0] = "Old";
list.add(shallowClonedMap.clone());
list.add(deepClone(deepClonedMap));
shallowClonedMap[0][0] = "New";
deepClonedMap[0][0] = "New";
list.add(shallowClonedMap.clone());
list.add(deepClone(deepClonedMap));
for (String[][] item : list) {
System.out.print(item[0][0]);
}
}
public static String[][] deepClone(String[][] arry) {
if (arry == null) {
return null;
}
String[][] clone = new String[arry.length][];
for (int i = 0; i < arry.length; i++) {
clone[i] = arry[i].clone();
}
return clone;
}
The output for executing this code is : NewOldNewNew whereas the "intended" output is "OldOldNewNew". From this you can see the shallowClonedMap was updated to "New" even after being cloned and added to the list.

Working with new object changes reference too

I have this list of objects that includes an array i (want) to use just as reference. So when i create a new object, fill it with an array in the list and start changing that new object i do not want my initial arrays for the object in my list to change.
I basically do this:
//Fill list with my reference objects;
Object newObject = new Object(); //So i do not change the previous newObject in the loop.
newObject = (find)ObjectFromList;
newObject.array = RotateArray(newObject.array);
If i fill another newObject with the same object from the list it already is rotated. I hope i have been clear enough. Below a shortened version of my code, still a bit messy too:
LoadRooms(); //Loads all the objects and arrays from a file into the list.
for(int x=0;x<width;x++)
{
for(int y=0;y<height;y++)
{
Room newRoom = new Room();
//Fill newroom with correct room type, rotate and build tilemap.
//Dead ends
if(!mazeMap[x][y].N && !mazeMap[x][y].E && mazeMap[x][y].S && !mazeMap[x][y].W)
{
newRoom = FindRoom(Room.RoomType.DeadEnd);
newRoom.room = TurnRoomCW(newRoom.room);
newRoom.room = TurnRoomCW(newRoom.room);
newRoom.room = TurnRoomCW(newRoom.room);
}
else if(!mazeMap[x][y].N && mazeMap[x][y].E && !mazeMap[x][y].S && !mazeMap[x][y].W)
{
newRoom = FindRoom(Room.RoomType.DeadEnd);
}
//Etc, etc then i build a map from the newRoom.room array
}
}
This is what TurnRoom() looks like:
private String[][] TurnRoomCW(String[][] room)
{
String[][] rotatedRoom = new String[room[0].length][room.length];
for (int y = 0; y < room[0].length;y++)
{
for (int x = 0;x < room.length;x++)
{
rotatedRoom[y][x] = room[7 - x][y];
}
}
return rotatedRoom;
}
and here is FindRoom
private Room FindRoom(Room.RoomType roomType)
{
Collections.shuffle(rooms, rand);
for (Room r : rooms)
{
if (r.roomType.equals(roomType))
return r;
}
return null;
}
When i want to turn something like a corner type room, say NE into the correct position all other rooms turn with it. So when i want to turn, say SW into position the NE will be position wrong again.

Your FindRoom method is returning a reference to the actual room.
'TurnRoomCW' returns a new object, but you then assign that new object back into the original room
So your problem is right here:
newRoom = FindRoom(Room.RoomType.DeadEnd); // 1) find a DeadEnd room
newRoom.room = TurnRoomCW(newRoom.room); // 2) create rotated room, assign it to the room from step 1)
If you want to work with a new Room object, you will need to create a new one somehow. For example, you might define a constructor for Room that returns a new object initialized from an existing one. For example,
/** copy constructor */
public Room(Room oldRoom) {
this(); // regular constructor
this.room = oldRoom.room.clone(); // new Room gets its own array!
this.roomType = oldRoom.roomType;
// … etc for any other member variables
}

Basically, Java objects are references (pointers if you prefer), so unless you make an explicit copy of an Array (or any other object), it will point to the same object.
If you want to avoid that, you have to do a clone first:
List myList = referenceList.clone();
This is generally a good habit anyway to avoid having your "internal" object being modified by the external world.

Specific NullPointerException Java

i have short question, tell me just why first example don't work and second works.
Code before examples:
Tiles[] myTiles = new Tile[23];
number = 1;
First Example:
for(Tile tile : this.myTiles) {
if (number != this.myTiles.length) {
tile = new Tile(number, getResources().getColor(R.color.puzzle_default));
number++;
}
}
Second Example:
for(Tile tile : this.myTiles) {
if (number != this.myTiles.length){
this.myTiles[number-1] = new Tile(number, getResources().getColor(R.color.puzzle_default));
number++;
}
}
If i use code below in other method in class
this.myTiles[0].getNumber();
It's NullPointerException.
But with Second Example it nicely works.
I really don't know why. Thanks for any response

The first loop makes a copy of each object and is equivalent to
for (int i=0; i < myTiles.length; i++) {
Tile tile;
...
tile = new Tile(...); // set local reference only
}
As elements in an Object array are null by default these would remain unassigned outside the scope of the loop. The original elements of the myTiles remain at their default null values

The for each loop uses an Iterator internally to fetch items from the collection and return you a new reference to a local variable containing each element - overwriting this reference is completely useless, as it is only valid for one for-loop and will be replaced on the next.
"Internally", your first loop would translate to
for (Iterator<Tile> iterator = myTiles.iterator(); iterator.hasNext;){
Tile tile = iterator.next();
tile = new Tile(number, getResources().getColor(R.color.puzzle_default));
number++;
}

In Java, there is no such thing as manipulating a pointer directly. Any time you get a reference to an object, you are getting a copy to a reference, like a pointer to a pointer. For this reason if you do something like:
String s = "hello";
modify(s);
System.out.println(s); // still hello!
void modify(String s){
s = s + " world";
}
You can't actually change the original reference s because the function is manipulating a copy to that reference. In the example above you would need something like this:
String s = "hello";
s = modify(s);
System.out.println(s); // prints 'hello world'
String modify(String s){
return s + " world";
}
The same happens in your for comprehension. The variable tile is bound to the loop and is a copy of a reference in the array. The original reference (the array at the given position) can't be changed directly this way. That's why you need to call directly:
myTiles[i] = // something
Read this article for more information.
So the idiomatic way of modifying an array in java is something like:
for(int i = 0; i < myTiles.length; i++){
myTiles[i] = new Tile(...); // directly reassigning the reference in the array!
}

Delete object from array

I've got this constructor in the class Music:
protected String Title;
protected String Autor;
protected String Type;
protected int Code;
public Music (String title, String autor, String type, int code){
this.setTitle(title);
this.setAutor(autor);
this.setType(type);
this.setCode(code);
}
#Override
public String toString(){
return this.Title + " " + this.Autor + " " + this.Type + " " + this.Code;
}
Then, in other class called ManageMusic I create some methods to then use them on the main class. I also define a String array refered to the Music class which I will use in the main class:
private final Music[] musicList;
private int counter;
public ManageMusic(int maxSize) {
musicList= new Music[maxSize];
counter= 0;
public void add(Music m){
musicList[counter] = m;
counter++;
}
Here, I have to create a delete method which would delete a especific object from the musicList and return this list without that object.
This is the way I add music elements to the musicList on the main class:
static ManageMusic musiclist = new ManageMusic(20);
musicList.add(new Music(title, autor, format, code));
My approach for the delete method in the ManageMusic class is to copy this list into a new String[] and then copy it back to the list. But as I'm using an objet from Music instead of from String, I cannot make the copy back because it does not cast the String to the musicList:
public void delete(int code){
String[] newString = new String[musicList.length];
int index_1 = 0;
for (int i=0; i<musicList.length; i++){
if(i != code){
newString[index_1] = musicList[i].toString();
index_1++;
}
}
int index_2 = 0;
for (int i=0; i<newString.length; i++){ //THIS IS WHERE IT SAYS: Cannot convert
// from String to Music
musicList[index_2] = newString[i];
index_2++;
}
}
I have to do something not far from this, because then I've got a method that list elements from the musicList, so I cannot set a return statement for the method.

Why you can do it without an ArrayList
As some people suggested in the comments, you should probably use ArrayLists or similar stuff from the java.util.collection package.
However I assume you want to learn how such things work, so I will not provide you with code (First because I'm too lazy, second to encourage you to learn it yourself) but with some explanation.
edit: First: Your problem is that you copy strings, not references. Instead of trying to use the toString method, try to handle it with the "objects" (i.e. their references) themselves.
Error checking
As you might have noticed your add will cause an IndexOutOfBoundsException if you try to add another entry after your list reached your max_size. You should check for that. You should also check lots of things in the following explanations, I'll provide a few suggestions.
Simple deletion with your exact example
Just use Music[] instead of String[] and copy the reference of the temp Music[] to your musicList.
Better way to handle it: dynamic array structure
So what I suggest is to make use of a dynamic array structure. You will have to copy arrays around a lot, which can be a bit difficult. But basically it's what an ArrayList does.
Constructor
But how to implement that dynamic structure? Let's first start with the initialization, i.e. your constructor. You will not need a parameter for a maximum size (unless you want to restrict your music collection for some reason). Just create an array with size 0. (Of course you can also implement copy constructors and other things, but for the start keep it simple.)
add()
To add more music, you simply create a new array with the size of your current collection + 1, copy all references (this is probably the answer you were looking for. You take the strings, but just take the objects themselves) from the current array to the new array, add the new Music and change the reference of your member variable to your newly created, bigger array (i.e. assigning musicList = tempArray; or something similar). (Error checking: is the object null?)
delete()
For deletion you can do just the same. Create a new temporary array (this time with a reduced size), copy all values over but leave out the one you want to delete. To determine which shall be deleted you can either check for indices or even check the objects for equality. (Error checking: size of temp array should never be smaller than 1, so check if your array is empty - consider to use a method like isEmpty() for that.)
Why should I do this?
Once you got those concepts you will be able to manage your array in whatever way you like. Search through it, delete all elements, copy your music collection to your friend's, etc. etc.
And beyond that?
And after you learned this, go ahead and try the ArrayList - you will figure out it works very much like what you have just written. And now you can be proud that you not only can use ArrayLists, but also know how and why they behave like they do.

Its better to use ArrayList than writing own logic to delete object from existing array. Here is how you can use ArrayList :
{
ArrayList<Music> list = new ArrayList<Music>();
Music m1 = new Music(title, autor, format, code);
list.add(m1);
// similarly you can check whether object is present in ArrayList or not using
if(list.contains(m1)){ // This check whether object is present in ArrayList or not
//Do whatever you want
}
}

ArrayList example:
List<Music> musicList = new ArrayList<Music>();
adding to end of list list:
musicList.add(new Music(...));
adding to specified position in list (later ones all move up one place)
musicList.add(index, new Music(..));
remove from list:
musicList.remove(index);
or
musicList.remove(someMusic);
Size of list:
int size = musicList.size();
Get first music:
Music first = musicList.get(0);
Get last music:
Music last = musicList.get(musicList.size()-1);
Loop:
for (Music : musicList) {
//do stuff
}

do like this
public void delete(int code){
List<Music> list = new ArrayList<Music>(); //creating new empty list
for (Music m:musicList){
if(m.code != code){ // removing condition
list.add(m); // adding music to new list
}
}
musicList = list.toArray(new Music[list.size()]); // assigning back list to musicList
}