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looping through List and removing element skipps certain elements

If have a workflow that removes elements of a List by a certain criteria. However certain items are skipped? Why is this happening?
List<Integer> listWithAge = new ArrayList<>();
int randomNumber = 100;
for (int i = 0; i < randomNumber; i++) {
listWithAge.add(i);
}
// this is my loop
for (int i = 0; i < listWithAge.size(); i++) {
System.out.println(i);
if ((listWithAge.get(i) % 3) == 2) listWithAge.remove(i);
}
Above code is my loop. I replaced my condition with something simpler. If I run this code my second loop only runs for 67 turns instead of 100.

It is problematic to iterate over a list and remove elements while iterating over it.
If you think about how the computer has to reconcile it, it makes sense...
Here's a thought experiment for you to go through.
If you have a list that is size 10 and you want to remove elements 1, 5, and 9 then you would think maybe the following would work:
List<String> listOfThings = ...some list with 10 things in it...;
list.remove(0);
list.remove(4);
list.remove(8);
However, after the first remove command, the list is only size 9.. Then after the second command, it's size has become 8. At this point, it hardly even makes sense to do list.remove(8) anymore because you're looking at an 8-element list and the largest index is 7.
You can also see now that the 2nd command didn't even remove the element now that you wanted.
If you want to keep this style of "remove as I go" syntax, the more appropriate way is to use Iterators. Here's an SO that talks about it and shows you the syntax you would need (see the question). It's easy to read up on elsewhere too.
How Iterator's remove method actually remove an object

Skipping a value would be the result of your list getting out of sync with your loop index because the list is reduced in size. This causes you to hop over some locations since the reduction in size affects future locations that have not been reached.
So the first thing you could do is simply correct the synchronization by decrementing i when you remove a value from the list. This will keep index at the same spot as the list shifts "left" caused by the removal.
for (int i = 0; i < listWithAge.size(); i++) {
if ((listWithAge.get(i) % 3) == 2) listWithAge.remove(i--);
}
The other option is to loop thru the list backwards.
for (int i = listWithAge.size()-1; i >= 0; i--) {
if ((listWithAge.get(i) % 3) == 2) {
listWithAge.remove(i);
}
}
This way, no values should be skipped since the removing of the element does affect the loop index's future positions relative to the changing size of the list.
But the best way would be to use an iterator as has already been mentioned by
Atmas
As a side note, I recommend you always use blocks {} even for single statements as I did above in the if block. It will save you some serious debugging time in the future when you decide you need to add additional statements and then wonder why things are no longer working.
And deleting like this from a list is very expensive, especially for large lists. I would suggest that if you don't have duplicate values, you use a Set. Otherwise, instead of deleting matching values, add the non-matching to a second list.

List<Integer> listWithAge = new ArrayList<>();
int randomNumber = 100;
for (int i = 0; i < randomNumber; i++) {
listWithAge.add(i);
}
// this is my loop
List<Integer> itemsToBeDeleted = new ArrayList<>();
for (int i = 0; i < listWithAge.size(); i++) {
System.out.println(i);
if ((listWithAge.get(i) % 3) == 2) {
itemsToBeDeleted.add(i);
}
//delete all outside the loop
//deleting inside the loop messes the indexing of the array
listWithAge.removeAll(itemsToBeDeleted);

Removing every other element in an array list

for(int i = 0; i < points.size(); i = i+lines) {
points.remove(i);
}
The idea here is that a user can either remove every other space or every third space or every fourth space .. And so forth, of an array list by entering an int "line" that will skip the spaces. However, I realize the list gets smaller each time messing with the skip value. How do I account for this? I'm using the ArrayList library from java so don't have the option of just adding a method in the array list class. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've perfomed a benchmark of all the answers proposed to this question so far.
For an ArrayList with ~100K elements (each a string), the results are as follows:
removeUsingRemoveAll took 15018 milliseconds (sleepToken)
removeUsingIter took 216 milliseconds (Arvind Kumar Avinash)
removeFromEnd took 94 milliseconds (WJS)
Removing an element from an ArrayList is an Θ(n) operation, as it has to shift all remaining elements in the array to the left (i.e. it's slow!). WJS's suggestion of removing elements from the end of the list first, appears to be the fastest (inplace) method proposed so far.
However, for this problem, I'd highly suggest considering alternative data structures such as a LinkedList, which is designed to make removing (or adding) elements in the middle of the list fast. Another alternative, if you have sufficient memory, is to build up the results in a separate list rather than trying to modify the list inplace:
removeUsingIterLinked took 12 milliseconds
removeUsingSecondList took 3 milliseconds (sleepToken with WJS's comment)

Use an Iterator with a counter e.g. the following code will remove every other (i.e. every 2nd) element (starting with index, 0):
Iterator<Point> itr = points.iterator();
int i = 0;
while(itr.hasNext()) {
itr.next();
if(i % 2 == 0) {
itr.remove();
}
i++;
}
Here, I've used i as a counter.
Similarly, you can use the condition, i % 3 == 0 to remove every 3rd element (starting with index, 0).

Here is a different approach. Simply start from the end and remove in reverse. That way you won't mess up the index synchronization. To guarantee that removal starts with the second item from the front, ensure you start with the last odd index to begin with. That would be list.size()&~1 - 1. If size is 10, you will start with 9. If size is 11 you will start with 9
List<Integer> list = IntStream.rangeClosed(1,11)
.boxed().collect(Collectors.toList());
for(int i = (list.size()&~1)-1; i>=0; i-=2) {
list.remove(i);
}
System.out.println(list);
Prints
[1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11]

You could add them to a new ArrayList and then remove all elements after iterating.
You could set count to remove every countth element.
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Test {
static ArrayList<String> test = new ArrayList<String>();
public static void main(String[] args) {
test.add("a");
test.add("b");
test.add("c");
test.add("d");
test.add("e");
ArrayList<String> toRemove = new ArrayList<String>();
int count = 2;
for (int i = 0; i < test.size(); i++) {
if (i % count == 0) {
toRemove.add(test.get(i));
}
}
test.removeAll(toRemove);
System.out.print(test);
}
}

Java - removing an element in list while iterating it with a for index loop

I know that removing an element from a list while iterating it is not recommended.
You better use iterator.remove(), java streams, or copy the remove to an external list.
But this simple code just works:
static List<Integer> list = new ArrayList<Integer>();
...
private static void removeForI() {
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 3) {
list.remove(i);
continue;
}
System.out.println(i);
}
}
Is it safe to use it?

You need to think about how list.remove(index) works.
When remove(idx) gets called, the element at idx index gets deleted and all the next elements gets shifted to left.
So, suppose you have a list containing 2, 3, 3, 4, 5. Now you want to remove all the 3s from this list. But if you use your current approach, it will remove only the first occurrence of 3. Because after removing 1st occurrence of 3 which is at position 1 your contents will get shifted to left and will be like this 2, 3, 4, 5. But now your for loop will increment the current index to 2 which contains 4 and not 3.
That is why it is not advised to remove items while iterating, Because index of items gets changed after each removal.
Edit: Also if you are using a constant value in loop break condition like in above example i<10; you might get ArrayIndexOutOfBounds exception.

Even though it works under the condition people have pointed out, I would only use it temporarily and change it to:
private static void removeForI() {
list.remove(3);
list.foreach(System.out::println);
}
There is no need to check if i==3, simply remove it before the for loop.

It looks like that loop will be having a different conditional later on as otherwise you can simply do as JoschJava stated.
However if you truly want to iterate through all of your elements and remove a specific one during the loop, you may want to shift the index backwards afterwards. If that is the case, I would add this at the end of your conditional body:
i -= 1;

It isn't safe at all. When you know you might temper the list during iteration, convert your list object into Iterator object then use its methods : hasNext, next, remove...

Add a new HashSet to a previous HashSet, "CHANGING" the previous HashSet and continue doing so until certain condition has been met

I know that if you have two HashSet the you can create a third one adding the two.However, for my purpose I need to change my previous HashSet, look for certain condition , and then if not met then change the set again.My purpose is that that I will give an input, say number 456, and look for digits(1 through 9, including 0).If I'm unable to find size 10 for the HashSet then I will multiply the number with 2 , and do the same.So I'll get 912; the size is 6 now(and I need to get all digits 1-9 & 0, i.e., size 10).Now I will multiply it by 3 and I get 2736 , the size is now 7.I keep doing so until I get size 10.At the time I get size 10, I will complete the loop and return the last number that concluded the loop, following the incremental multiplication rule.My approach is as follows.It has errors so won't run but it represents my understanding as of now.
public long digitProcessSystem(long N) {
// changing the passed in number into String
String number = Long.toString(N);
//splitting the String so that I can investigate each digit
String[] arr = number.split("");
// Storing the digits(which are Strings now) into HashSet
Set<String> input = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(arr));
// Count starts for incremental purpose later.
count =1;
//When I get all digits; 1-9, & 0, I need to return the last number that concluded the condition
while (input.size() == 10) {
return N;
}
// The compiler telling me to delete the else but as a new Java user so far my understanding is that I can use `else` with `while`loops.Correct me if I'm missing something.
else {
// Increment starts following the rule; N*1, N*2,N*3,...till size is 10
N = N*count;
// doing everything over
String numberN = Long.toString(N);
String[] arr1 = number.split("");
// need to change the previous `input`so that the new updated `HashSet` gets passed in the while loop to look for size 10.This is error because I'm using same name `input`. But I don't want to create a new `set` , I need to update the previous `set` which I don't know how.
Set<String> input = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(arr1));
// increments count
count++;
}

clear() input and add the new values. Something like
// Set<String> input = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(arr1));
input.clear();
input.addAll(Arrays.asList(arr1));
and
while (input.size() == 10) {
should be
if (input.size() == 10) {
Or your else isn't tied to an if.

Delete data from ArrayList with a For-loop

I got a weird problem.
I thought this would cost me few minutes, but I am struggling for few hours now...
Here is what I got:
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++){
if (data.get(i).getCaption().contains("_Hardi")){
data.remove(i);
}
}
The data is the ArrayList.
In the ArrayList I got some strings (total 14 or so), and 9 of them, got the name _Hardi in it.
And with the code above I want to remove them.
If I replace data.remove(i); with a System.out.println then it prints out something 9 times, what is good, because _Hardi is in the ArrayList 9 times.
But when I use data.remove(i); then it doesn't remove all 9, but only a few.
I did some tests and I also saw this:
When I rename the Strings to:
Hardi1
Hardi2
Hardi3
Hardi4
Hardi5
Hardi6
Then it removes only the on-even numbers (1, 3, 5 and so on).
He is skipping 1 all the time, but can't figure out why.
How to fix this? Or maybe another way to remove them?

The Problem here is you are iterating from 0 to size and inside the loop you are deleting items. Deleting the items will reduce the size of the list which will fail when you try to access the indexes which are greater than the effective size(the size after the deleted items).
There are two approaches to do this.
Delete using iterator if you do not want to deal with index.
for (Iterator<Object> it = data.iterator(); it.hasNext();) {
if (it.next().getCaption().contains("_Hardi")) {
it.remove();
}
}
Else, delete from the end.
for (int i = size-1; i >= 0; i--){
if (data.get(i).getCaption().contains("_Hardi")){
data.remove(i);
}
}

You shouldn't remove items from a List while you iterate over it. Instead, use Iterator.remove() like:
for (Iterator<Object> it = list.iterator(); it.hasNext();) {
if ( condition is true ) {
it.remove();
}
}

Every time you remove an item, you are changing the index of the one in front of it (so when you delete list[1], list[2] becomes list[1], hence the skip.
Here's a really easy way around it: (count down instead of up)
for(int i = list.size() - 1; i>=0; i--)
{
if(condition...)
list.remove(i);
}

Its because when you remove an element from a list, the list's elements move up. So if you remove first element ie at index 0 the element at index 1 will be shifted to index 0 but your loop counter will keep increasing in every iteration. so instead you of getting the updated 0th index element you get 1st index element. So just decrease the counter by one everytime you remove an element from your list.
You can use the below code to make it work fine :
for (int i = 0; i < data.size(); i++){
if (data.get(i).getCaption().contains("_Hardi")){
data.remove(i);
i--;
}
}

It makes perfect sense if you think it through. Say you have a list [A, B, C]. The first pass through the loop, i == 0. You see element A and then remove it, so the list is now [B, C], with element 0 being B. Now you increment i at the end of the loop, so you're looking at list[1] which is C.
One solution is to decrement i whenever you remove an item, so that it "canceles out" the subsequent increment. A better solution, as matt b points out above, is to use an Iterator<T> which has a built-in remove() function.
Speaking generally, it's a good idea, when facing a problem like this, to bring out a piece of paper and pretend you're the computer -- go through each step of the loop, writing down all of the variables as you go. That would have made the "skipping" clear.

I don't understand why this solution is the best for most of the people.
for (Iterator<Object> it = data.iterator(); it.hasNext();) {
if (it.next().getCaption().contains("_Hardi")) {
it.remove();
}
}
Third argument is empty, because have been moved to next line. Moreover it.next() not only increment loop's variable but also is using to get data. For me use for loop is misleading. Why you don't using while?
Iterator<Object> it = data.iterator();
while (it.hasNext()) {
Object obj = it.next();
if (obj.getCaption().contains("_Hardi")) {
it.remove();
}
}

Because your index isn't good anymore once you delete a value
Moreover you won't be able to go to size since if you remove one element, the size as changed.
You may use an iterator to achieve that.

for (Iterator<Object> it = data.iterator(); it.hasNext();) {
if ( it.getCaption().contains("_Hardi")) {
it.remove(); // performance is low O(n)
}
}
If your remove operation is required much on list. Its better you use LinkedList which gives better performance Big O(1) (roughly).
Where in ArrayList performance is O(n) (roughly) . So impact is very high on remove operation.

It is late but it might work for someone.
Iterator<YourObject> itr = yourList.iterator();
// remove the objects from list
while (itr.hasNext())
{
YourObject object = itr.next();
if (Your Statement) // id == 0
{
itr.remove();
}
}

In addition to the existing answers, you can use a regular while loop with a conditional increment:
int i = 0;
while (i < data.size()) {
if (data.get(i).getCaption().contains("_Hardi"))
data.remove(i);
else i++;
}
Note that data.size() must be called every time in the loop condition, otherwise you'll end up with an IndexOutOfBoundsException, since every item removed alters your list's original size.

This happens because by deleting the elements you modify the index of an ArrayList.

import java.util.ArrayList;
public class IteratorSample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
ArrayList<Integer> al = new ArrayList<Integer>();
al.add(1);
al.add(2);
al.add(3);
al.add(4);
System.out.println("before removal!!");
displayList(al);
for(int i = al.size()-1; i >= 0; i--){
if(al.get(i)==4){
al.remove(i);
}
}
System.out.println("after removal!!");
displayList(al);
}
private static void displayList(ArrayList<Integer> al) {
for(int a:al){
System.out.println(a);
}
}
}
output:
before removal!!
1
2
3
4
after removal!!
1
2
3

There is an easier way to solve this problem without creating a new iterator object. Here is the concept. Suppose your arrayList contains a list of names:
names = [James, Marshall, Susie, Audrey, Matt, Carl];
To remove everything from Susie forward, simply get the index of Susie and assign it to a new variable:
int location = names.indexOf(Susie);//index equals 2
Now that you have the index, tell java to count the number of times you want to remove values from the arrayList:
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) { //remove Susie through Carl
names.remove(names.get(location));//remove the value at index 2
}
Every time the loop value runs, the arrayList is reduced in length. Since you have set an index value and are counting the number of times to remove values, you're all set. Here is an example of output after each pass through:
[2]
names = [James, Marshall, Susie, Audrey, Matt, Carl];//first pass to get index and i = 0
[2]
names = [James, Marshall, Audrey, Matt, Carl];//after first pass arrayList decreased and Audrey is now at index 2 and i = 1
[2]
names = [James, Marshall, Matt, Carl];//Matt is now at index 2 and i = 2
[2]
names = [James, Marshall, Carl];//Carl is now at index 3 and i = 3
names = [James, Marshall,]; //for loop ends
Here is a snippet of what your final method may look like:
public void remove_user(String name) {
int location = names.indexOf(name); //assign the int value of name to location
if (names.remove(name)==true) {
for (int i = 0; i < 7; i++) {
names.remove(names.get(location));
}//end if
print(name + " is no longer in the Group.");
}//end method

This is a common problem while using Arraylists and it happens due to the fact that the length (size) of an Arraylist can change. While deleting, the size changes too; so after the first iteration, your code goes haywire. Best advice is either to use Iterator or to loop from the back, I'll recommend the backword loop though because I think it's less complex and it still works fine with numerous elements:
//Let's decrement!
for(int i = size-1; i >= 0; i--){
if (data.get(i).getCaption().contains("_Hardi")){
data.remove(i);
}
}
Still your old code, only looped differently!
I hope this helps...
Merry coding!!!