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java downcast results in method not applicable error

I am trying to downcast a function for my database objects. I get:
The method GetAsStringArray(HashMap<Long,dbObject>) in the type
dbObject is not applicable for the arguments
(HashMap<Long,dbEmployee>)
when I try to call GetAsStringArray(). Here is my test code:
dbObject base class:
public class dbObject implements Comparable<dbObject> {
protected long id;
public long getId() {
return id;
}
public void setId(long id) {
this.id = id;
}
public static dbObject[] GetAsArray(HashMap<Long,dbObject> map) {
Collection<dbObject> list = map.values();
dbObject[] ar = list.toArray(new dbObject[] {});
Arrays.sort(ar);
return ar;
}
public static String[] GetAsStringArray(HashMap<Long,dbObject> map) {
Vector<String>vStrings = new Vector<String>();
Collection<dbObject> list = map.values();
dbObject[] ar = list.toArray(new dbObject[] {});
Arrays.sort(ar);
for (dbObject o : ar)
vStrings.add(o.toString());
return (String[]) vStrings.toArray(new String[] {});
}
#Override
public int compareTo(dbObject another) {
return (int)(this.getId() - another.getId());
}
}
Child class dbEmployee:
public class dbEmployee extends dbObject {
private String First;
private String Last;
public dbEmployee(){}
public String toString() {
return Last + ", " + First;
}
}
And the error:
public static void main(String[] args)
{
HashMap<Long,dbEmployee>mapEmployees = new HashMap<Long,dbEmployee>();
dbEmployee.GetAsStringArray(mapEmployees);
}
Note: some of my dbObjects will have their own compareTo() function (a few of the objects have a field in the db to override the default sort order), but most of the items just sort by id.

You will need to redefine the method thusly:
public static dbObject[] GetAsArray(HashMap<Long, ? extends dbObject> map) {
Collection<? extends dbObject> list = map.values();
dbObject[] ar = list.toArray(new dbObject[] {});
Arrays.sort(ar);
return ar;
}
A Map<Long, dbEmployee> cannot be used in place of a Map<Long, dbObject>, because although it has some of the same behaviour, some of its behaviour is very different. In particular, you can't add an Object of type dbObject to a Map<Long, dbEmployee>.
If the method GetAsArray(HashMap<Long, dbObject> map) allowed you to pass it a Map<Long, dbEmployee>, you would be able to add dbObjects to the map from inside the method. The method has no way to know that the map is not actually a map of dbObjects. Then, if you held on to a reference to the map outside of the method, you would have big problems. The map would no longer by type-safe. It would say it was a Map<Long, dbEmployee>, but it would actually contain dbObjects that were not dbEmployees.
The ? extends dbObject syntax allows you to specify what you can get out of the map without detailing what can go in it. You'll notice that if you now try to add something to the map inside the GetAsArray(HashMap<Long, extends dbObject> map) method, you'll get a compile error.
(There is an equivalent syntax, ? super dbEmployee, that would let you put things in the map without knowing what could come out).

What is the java 8 equivalent to Guava's transformAndConcat?

Lets assume I have a class containing a List, e.g.
public static class ListHolder {
List<String> list = new ArrayList<>();
public ListHolder(final List<String> list) {
this.list = list;
}
public List<String> getList() {
return list;
}
}
Let's furthermore assume I have a whole list of instances of this class:
ListHolder listHolder1 = new ListHolder(Arrays.asList("String 1", "String 2"));
ListHolder listHolder2 = new ListHolder(Arrays.asList("String 3", "String 4"));
List<ListHolder> holders = Arrays.asList(listHolder1, listHolder2);
And now I need to extract all Strings to get a String List containing all Strings of all instances, e.g.:
[String 1, String 2, String 3, String 4]
With Guava this would look like this:
List<String> allString = FluentIterable
.from(holders)
.transformAndConcat(
new Function<ListHolder, List<String>>() {
#Override
public List<String> apply(final ListHolder listHolder) {
return listHolder.getList();
}
}
).toList();
My question is how can I achieve the same with the Java 8 stream API?

List<String> allString = holders.stream()
.flatMap(h -> h.getList().stream())
.collect(Collectors.toList());
Here is an older question about collection flattening: (Flattening a collection)

Create an ArrayList with multiple object types?

How do I create an ArrayList with integer and string input types? If I create one as:
List<Integer> sections = new ArrayList <Integer>();
that will be an Integer type ArrayList.
If I create one as:
List<String> sections = new ArrayList <String>();
that will be of String type.
How can I create an ArrayList which can take both integer and string input types?
Thank you.

You can make it like :
List<Object> sections = new ArrayList <Object>();
(Recommended) Another possible solution would be to make a custom model class with two parameters one Integer and other String. Then using an ArrayList of that object.

(1)
ArrayList<Object> list = new ArrayList <>();`
list.add("ddd");
list.add(2);
list.add(11122.33);
System.out.println(list);
(2)
ArrayList arraylist = new ArrayList();
arraylist.add(5);
arraylist.add("saman");
arraylist.add(4.3);
System.out.println(arraylist);

You can use Object for storing any type of value for e.g. int, float, String, class objects, or any other java objects, since it is the root of all the class. For e.g.
Declaring a class
class Person {
public int personId;
public String personName;
public int getPersonId() {
return personId;
}
public void setPersonId(int personId) {
this.personId = personId;
}
public String getPersonName() {
return personName;
}
public void setPersonName(String personName) {
this.personName = personName;
}}
main function code, which creates the new person object, int, float, and string type, and then is added to the List, and iterated using for loop. Each object is identified, and then the value is printed.
Person p = new Person();
p.setPersonId(1);
p.setPersonName("Tom");
List<Object> lstObject = new ArrayList<Object>();
lstObject.add(1232);
lstObject.add("String");
lstObject.add(122.212f);
lstObject.add(p);
for (Object obj : lstObject) {
if (obj.getClass() == String.class) {
System.out.println("I found a string :- " + obj);
}
if (obj.getClass() == Integer.class) {
System.out.println("I found an int :- " + obj);
}
if (obj.getClass() == Float.class) {
System.out.println("I found a float :- " + obj);
}
if (obj.getClass() == Person.class) {
Person person = (Person) obj;
System.out.println("I found a person object");
System.out.println("Person Id :- " + person.getPersonId());
System.out.println("Person Name :- " + person.getPersonName());
}
}
You can find more information on the object class on this link Object in java

List<Object> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(1);
list.add("1");
As the return type of ArrayList is object, you can add any type of data to ArrayList but it is not a good practice to use ArrayList because there is unnecessary boxing and unboxing.

You could create a List<Object>, but you really don't want to do this. Mixed lists that abstract to Object are not very useful and are a potential source of bugs. In fact the fact that your code requires such a construct gives your code a bad code smell and suggests that its design may be off. Consider redesigning your program so you aren't forced to collect oranges with orangutans.
Instead -- do what G V recommends and I was about to recommend, create a custom class that holds both int and String and create an ArrayList of it. 1+ to his answer!

Create your own class which stores the string and integer, and then make a list of these objects.
class Stuff {
private String label;
private Integer value;
// Constructor
public void Stuff(String label, Integer value) {
if (label == null || value == null) {
throw NullPointerException();
}
this.label = label;
this.value = value;
}
// getters
public String getLabel() {
return this.label;
}
public Integer getValue() {
return this.value;
}
}
Then in your code:
private List<Stuff> items = new ArrayList<Stuff>();
items.add(new Stuff(label, value));
for (Stuff item: items) {
doSomething(item.getLabel()); // returns String
doSomething(item.getValue()); // returns Integer
}

It depends on the use case. Can you, please, describe it more?
If you want to be able to add both at one time, than you can do the which is nicely described by #Sanket Parikh. Put Integer and String into a new class and use that.
If you want to add the list either a String or an int, but only one of these at a time, then sure it is the List<Object>
which looks good but only for first sight! This is not a good pattern. You'll have to check what type of object you have each time you get an object from your list. Also This type of list can contain any other types as well.. So no, not a nice solution. Although maybe for a beginner it can be used. If you choose this, i would recommend to check what is "instanceof" in Java.
I would strongly advise to reconsider your needs and think about maybe your real nead is to encapsulate Integers to a List<Integer> and Strings to a separate List<String>
Can i tell you a metaphor for what you want to do now? I would say you want to make a List wich can contain coffee beans and coffee shops. These to type of objects are totally different! Why are these put onto the same shelf? :)
Or do you have maybe data which can be a word or a number? Yepp! This would make sense, both of them is data! Then try to use one object for that which contains the data as String and if needed, can be translated to integer value.
public class MyDataObj {
String info;
boolean isNumeric;
public MyDataObj(String info){
setInfo(info);
}
public MyDataObj(Integer info){
setInfo(info);
}
public String getInfo() {
return info;
}
public void setInfo(String info) {
this.info = info;
this.isNumeric = false;
}
public void setInfo(Integer info) {
this.info = Integer.toString(info);
this.isNumeric = true;
}
public boolean isNumeric() {
return isNumeric;
}
}
This way you can use List<MyDataObj> for your needs. Again, this depends on your needs! :)
Some edition: What about using inharitance? This is better then then List<Object> solution, because you can not have other types in the list then Strings or Integers:
Interface:
public interface IMyDataObj {
public String getInfo();
}
For String:
public class MyStringDataObj implements IMyDataObj {
final String info;
public MyStringDataObj(String info){
this.info = info;
}
#Override
public String getInfo() {
return info;
}
}
For Integer:
public class MyIntegerDataObj implements IMyDataObj {
final Integer info;
public MyIntegerDataObj(Integer info) {
this.info = info;
}
#Override
public String getInfo() {
return Integer.toString(info);
}
}
Finally the list will be: List<IMyDataObj>

You don't know the type is Integer or String then you no need Generic. Go With old style.
List list= new ArrayList ();
list.add(1);
list.add("myname");
for(Object o = list){
}

You can always create an ArrayList of Objects. But it will not be very useful to you. Suppose you have created the Arraylist like this:
List<Object> myList = new ArrayList<Object>();
and add objects to this list like this:
myList.add(new Integer("5"));
myList.add("object");
myList.add(new Object());
You won't face any problem while adding and retrieving the object but it won't be very useful.
You have to remember at what location each type of object is it in order to use it. In this case after retrieving, all you can do is calling the methods of Object on them.

You can just add objects of diffefent "Types" to an instance of ArrayList. No need create an ArrayList. Have a look at the below example,
You will get below output:
Beginning....
Contents of array: [String, 1]
Size of the list: 2
This is not an Integer String
This is an Integer 1
package com.viswa.examples.programs;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class VarArrayListDemo {
#SuppressWarnings({ "rawtypes", "unchecked" })
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(" Beginning....");
ArrayList varTypeArray = new ArrayList();
varTypeArray.add("String");
varTypeArray.add(1); //Stored as Integer
System.out.println(" Contents of array: " + varTypeArray + "\n Size of the list: " + varTypeArray.size());
Arrays.stream(varTypeArray.toArray()).forEach(VarArrayListDemo::checkType);
}
private static <T> void checkType(T t) {
if (Integer.class.isInstance(t)) {
System.out.println(" This is an Integer " + t);
} else {
System.out.println(" This is not an Integer" + t);
}
}
}

Just use Entry (as in java.util.Map.Entry) as the list type, and populate it using (java.util.AbstractMap’s) SimpleImmutableEntry:
List<Entry<Integer, String>> sections = new ArrayList<>();
sections.add(new SimpleImmutableEntry<>(anInteger, orString)):

For me this method works perfectly fine in jdk 16
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Array {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ArrayList arrayList= new ArrayList();
arrayList.add("alien");
arrayList.add(1);
arrayList.add(0,'b');
System.out.println(arrayList);
System.out.println((arrayList.get(0)) instanceof Integer);
}
}
Output
[b, alien, 1]
false

User Defined Class Array List Example
import java.util.*;
public class UserDefinedClassInArrayList {
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Creating user defined class objects
Student s1=new Student(1,"AAA",13);
Student s2=new Student(2,"BBB",14);
Student s3=new Student(3,"CCC",15);
ArrayList<Student> al=new ArrayList<Student>();
al.add(s1);
al.add(s2);
al.add(s3);
Iterator itr=al.iterator();
//traverse elements of ArrayList object
while(itr.hasNext()){
Student st=(Student)itr.next();
System.out.println(st.rollno+" "+st.name+" "+st.age);
}
}
}
class Student{
int rollno;
String name;
int age;
Student(int rollno,String name,int age){
this.rollno=rollno;
this.name=name;
this.age=age;
}
}
Program Output:
1 AAA 13
2 BBB 14
3 CCC 15

Need to loop over an array/list/whatever and *return to caller* each element -but the loop only runs once, of course

I'm obviously missing something here, as this sound basic enough but yet...
I have a collection of objects . I need to use each one of them as parameter in constructor for a new object and return each new object to the caller method, one by one.
But -if I loop over the collection obviously the loop only runs once, and only returns the 1st object.
Edit : Returning the whole collection or some new collection will not work because :
The caller method [not mine to change] runs inside a start() method of a Runnable ThingProvider, which returns a single Thing whenever a request is submitted to it. So, returning List is not possible.
Thanks :)

public List<T> loop(Collection<? extends U> coll) {
List<T> a = new ArrayList<T>();
for (U u : coll){
a.add(new T(u));
}
return a;
}

Return a custom Iterator. Assumming your new objects are of class MyObject and the constructor accepts an Object:
public Iterator<MyObject> myObjectsIterator(final Iterator<? extends Object> it) {
return new Iterator<MyObject>() {
public boolean hasNext() {
return it.hasNext();
}
public MyObject next() {
return new MyObject(it.next());
}
public void remove() {
it.remove();
}
};
}
And you would call it like this:
...
Iterator<MyObject> myIt = myObjectsIterator(myListOfObjects.iterator());
// Now you can pass myIt around as a normal object. It will remember
// which one is the next Object with which to construct a MyObject
// and will generate it on the fly
...
while (myIt.hasNext()) { // is there any MyObject remaining?
MyObject myObj = myIt.next(); // gets the next MyObject
// do something with myObj
}
...

This is a poorly worded question and I think as others have noted, just returning a new list of the objects is fine. But if you really want to process them one at a time while you're looping through it, you can use the command pattern.
public interface Command {
void execute(NewType object);
}
Now in your caller method, you can do the following:
public void doSomething() {
processList(myList, new Command() {
void execute(NewType object) {
// Do whatever you want with this object
}
});
}
And, in the method that will actually go through the list:
public void processList(Iterable<OldType> values, Command command) {
for(OldType v : values) {
NewType newType = new NewType(v);
command.execute(newType);
}
}

In java you can return only once. So if you want to get some informations from your methods either you wrap them into a "Big" Object (here a List) or you give to the method the means to put informations in your parameters.
You could have something like this :
public static void main(String... args){
List<Parameter> parameters = methodToGetParameters();
List<Result> results = generateObjectsFromList(parameters);
for(Result result : results){
handleAResult(result);
}
}
public List<Result> generateObjectsFromList(List<Parameter> parameters){
List<Result> results = new ArrayList<Result>();
for(Parameter parameter : parameters){
results.add(new Result(parameter));
}
return results;
}
Or like this :
public static void main(String... args){
List<Parameter> parameters = methodToGetParameters();
List<Result> results = new ArrayList<Result>();
generateObjectsFromList(parameters, results);
for(Result result : results){
handleAResult(result);
}
}
public void generateObjectsFromList(List<Parameter> parameters, List<Result> results){
for(Parameter parameter : parameters){
results.add(new Result(parameter));
}
}
A third way to do this would be to use fields, but it's not really good to have a lot of fields if they're not really used (or only by one method).
On the same topic :
Java Object Oriented Design Question: Returning multiple objects in java(Updated)
Using a java method to return multiple values?

Return a collection from the method and in the collection implement a custom iterator to transform the input collection to the new collection. The following code shows how to do it using the Google Guava library:
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.List;
import com.google.common.base.Function;
import com.google.common.collect.Collections2;
public class Test {
static class Person {
public final String name;
public Person(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
public static Collection<Person> peopleFromNames(Collection<String> names) {
return Collections2.transform(names, new Function<String, Person>() {
public Person apply(String name) {
return new Person(name);
}});
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
List<String> names = Arrays.asList("Brian", "Albert", "Roger");
for (Person person : peopleFromNames(names)) {
System.out.println(person.name);
}
}
}

do you mean using of delegates something like below
public class Test {
private static class Person{
private final String name;
Person(String name){
this.name = name;
}
#Override
public String toString() {
return return name;
}
}
private interface Printer {
void print(Object object);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
final String[] names = {"one", "two", "three"};
final ArrayList<Person> people = construct(names, new Printer() {
#Override
public void print(Object object) {
System.out.println(object.toString());
}
});
}
private static ArrayList<Person> construct(String[] names, Printer printer) {
ArrayList<Person> people = new ArrayList<Person>();
for (String name : names) {
printer.print(new Person(name));
}
return people;
}
}

It's Possible.
Check these Project for Java-yield , yield4Java, infomancers
If you're using this just once in your entire code, You're better off choosing a method from the other answers.

Return a list of the new objects.

Converting lists of one element type to a list of another type

I'm writing an adapter framework where I need to convert a list of objects from one class to another. I can iterate through the source list to do this as in
Java: Best way of converting List<Integer> to List<String>
However, I'm wondering if there is a way to do this on the fly when the target list is being iterated, so I don't have to iterate through the list twice.

Java 8 way:
List<String> original = ...;
List<Wrapper> converted = original.stream().map(Wrapper::new).collect(Collectors.toList());
assuming Wrapper class has a constructor accepting a String.

My answer to that question applies to your case:
import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
import com.google.common.base.Functions
List<Integer> integers = Arrays.asList(1, 2, 3, 4);
List<String> strings = Lists.transform(integers, Functions.toStringFunction());
The transformed list is a view on the original collection, so the transformation happens when the destination List is accessed.

As an alternative to the iterator pattern, you can use a abstract generic mapper class, and only override the transform method:
create a generic collection mapper for any data type
[optional] create a library of methods that transform between different data types (and override the method)
use that library
the implementation:
// Generic class to transform collections
public abstract class CollectionTransformer<E, F> {
abstract F transform(E e);
public List<F> transform(List<E> list) {
List<F> newList = new ArrayList<F>();
for (E e : list) {
newList.add(transform(e));
}
return newList;
}
}
// Method that transform Integer to String
// this override the transform method to specify the transformation
public static List<String> mapIntegerToStringCollection(List<Integer> list) {
CollectionTransformer transformer = new CollectionTransformer<Integer, String>() {
#Override
String transform(Integer e) {
return e.toString();
}
};
return transformer.transform(list);
}
// Example Usage
List<Integer> integers = Arrays.asList(1,2);
List<String> strings = mapIntegerToStringCollection(integers);
This would be useful is you have to use transformations every time, encapsulating the process.
So you can make a library of collection mappers very easy.

If you are trying to get a list of elements within a list then use the below code.Here the list of objects contains attribute name and below gets you list of names from that list
inputList.stream().map(p -> p.getName()).collect(Collectors.toList());

You can write a mapping iterator that decorates an existing iterator and applies a function on it. In this case, the function transforms the objects from one type to another "on-the-fly".
Something like this:
import java.util.*;
abstract class Transformer<T, U> implements Iterable<U>, Iterator<U> {
public abstract U apply(T object);
final Iterator<T> source;
Transformer(Iterable<T> source) { this.source = source.iterator(); }
#Override public boolean hasNext() { return source.hasNext(); }
#Override public U next() { return apply(source.next()); }
#Override public void remove() { source.remove(); }
public Iterator<U> iterator() { return this; }
}
public class TransformingIterator {
public static void main(String args[]) {
List<String> list = Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3");
Iterable<Integer> it = new Transformer<String, Integer>(list) {
#Override public Integer apply(String s) {
return Integer.parseInt(s);
}
};
for (int i : it) {
System.out.println(i);
}
}
}

Lambdaj allows to do that in a very simple and readable way. For example, supposing you have a list of Integer and you want to convert them in the corresponding String representation you could write something like that;
List<Integer> ints = asList(1, 2, 3, 4);
Iterator<String> stringIterator = convertIterator(ints, new Converter<Integer, String> {
public String convert(Integer i) { return Integer.toString(i); }
});
Lambdaj applies the conversion function only while you're iterating on the result.
There is also a more concise way to use the same feature. The next example works supposing that you have a list of persons with a name property and you want to convert that list in an iterator of person's names.
Iterator<String> namesIterator = convertIterator(persons, on(Person.class).getName());
Pretty easy. Isn't it?

This Could be a solutions --> by using map
List<Employee> employee = Arrays.asList(new Emp(1, 100), new Emp(2, 200), new Emp(3, 300));
List<Employee> employeS = employee.stream()
.map(emp -> new Emp(emp.getId(), emp.getSalary * 100))
.collect(Collectors.toList());
employeS .stream() .forEach(s -> System.out.println("Id :" + s.getId() + " Salary :" + s.getSalary()));

That question does not iterate through the list twice. It just iterates once and by far is the only known method.
Also you could use some transformer classes in commons-collections of google-collections but they all do the same thing under the hood :) the following being one way
CollectionUtils.collect(collectionOfIntegers, new org.apache.commons.collections.functors.StringValueTransformer());

Well, you could create your own iterator wrapper class to do this. But I doubt that you would save much by doing this.
Here's a simple example that wraps any iterator to a String iterator, using Object.toString() to do the mapping.
public MyIterator implements Iterator<String> {
private Iterator<? extends Object> it;
public MyIterator(Iterator<? extends Object> it) {
this.it = it;
}
public boolean hasNext() {
return it.hasNext();
}
public String next() {
return it.next().toString();
}
public void remove() {
it.remove();
}
}

I think you would either have to create a custom List (implementing the List interface) or a custom Iterator. For example:
ArrayList<String> targetList = new ArrayList<String>();
ConvertingIterator<String> iterator = new ConvertingIterator<String>(targetList);
// and here you would have to use a custom List implementation as a source List
// using the Iterator created above
But I doubt that this approach would save you much.

Here's an on-the-fly approach. (There must be something already like this in the jdk; I just can't find it.)
package com.gnahraf.util;
import java.util.AbstractList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Objects;
import java.util.function.Function;
/**
*
*/
public class Lists {
private Lists() { }
public static <U,V> List<V> transform(List<U> source, Function<U, V> mapper) {
return new ListView<U, V>(source, mapper);
}
protected static class ListView<U, V> extends AbstractList<V> {
private final List<U> source;
private final Function<U, V> mapper;
protected ListView(List<U> source, Function<U, V> mapper) {
this.source = Objects.requireNonNull(source, "source");
this.mapper = Objects.requireNonNull(mapper, "mapper");
}
#Override
public V get(int index) {
return mapper.apply(source.get(index));
}
#Override
public int size() {
return source.size();
}
}
}