February 19, 2021 | Download a PDF of this article
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If you have worked on our quiz questions in the past, you know none of them is easy. They model the difficult questions from certification examinations. We write questions for the certification exams, and we intend that the same rules apply: Take words at their face value and trust that the questions are not intended to deceive you but to straightforwardly test your knowledge of the ins and outs of the language.
Given the following code fragment:
String[] arr = new String[] {"A1", "A2"};
List<String> ls = new ArrayList<>();
ls.add("L1");ls.add("L2");
List<String> la = Arrays.asList(arr);
List<String> lf = List.of(arr);
List<String> lc = List.copyOf(ls);
List<String> lu = Collections.unmodifiableList(ls);
arr[1]="A3";
ls.set(1, "L3");
// line n1
System.out.println("la=" + la);
System.out.println("lf=" + lf);
System.out.println("lc=" + lc);
System.out.println("lu=" + lu);
Which statements are correct? Choose three.
A. The output contains la=[A1, A2].
B. The output contains lf=[A1, A2].
C. The output contains lc=[L1, L3].
D. The output contains lu=[L1, L3].
E. If you add the following at line n1, the output will contain lf=[A1, A3]: lf.set(1, "A3");.
F. If you add the following at line n1, the output will contain la=[A1, A3] la.set(1, "A3");.
Answer. This quiz question explores different approaches to make lists that reflect data provided in arrays (known as bridging arrays and lists), as well as making detached copies of lists and views of lists.
The code in the question creates an array containing the values A1 and A2 and then an ArrayList containing the values L1 and L2. Those are then used to initialize four more lists.
Next, the code creates a List initialized from the array using the static factory method Arrays.asList(array). This method creates a List that acts as a view into the array. Being a view means that the methods of the List interact directly with the data stored in the array. The get operations return values from the array, and set operations change values in the array. Furthermore, if the array values are changed directly in the array, the data seen through subsequent get operations on the view will reflect those changes.
Of course, the length of a Java array cannot be changed after creation, and as a result the length of the List created by Arrays.asList cannot be changed either. You cannot add new elements, nor can you remove elements.
Given that List la is a view on the array arr, the assignment arr[1]="A3"; will also change the contents of List la. So the result of the line that prints la will be la=[A1, A3].
Therefore, you know that option A is incorrect.
Provided you do not attempt to change the length of a List that is a view on an array, you can change the elements using the List.set methods. Such changes will be visible in both the view and the underlying array. Option F suggests adding the code la.set(1, "A3"); at line n1. This code compiles and executes without any problems, although it doesn’t change any values. Given that the output already contains the text la=[A1, A3], option F is correct.
The second List is created from the array using the List.of(array) factory method. Each of the dozen overloaded List.of factories creates unmodifiable lists. The term unmodifiable means that the structure of the List itself cannot be altered. This differs from a truly immutable List in that if the elements in the List are mutable (which is very common in Java), you can change the contents of the elements themselves. You cannot, however, alter the List so that it refers to any different elements, nor can you add or remove any elements.
A consequence of this is that if the elements in the List are themselves immutable (which the strings in this case are), you actually do have a fully immutable List.
The List.of() factory copies the array elements into a new structure for the List it creates. This ensures that the new List is independent of the array from which it was initialized. Based on this, you can conclude that modification of the source array arr[1]="A3"; will not affect the List state. The line that prints the contents of List lf will produce lf=[A1, A2]. Therefore, you know that option B is correct.
As mentioned above, products of the List.of factory methods are unmodifiable. Such lists do not simply ignore attempts to change them. Instead, if there’s an attempt to modify them, they throw an exception. Option E suggests adding a set method call on the List. Such an action will cause the code to throw an exception rather than cause the output suggested in option E. From this, it’s clear that option E is incorrect.
The third List, lc, is created using the List.copyOf(collection) factory method. This method also returns an unmodifiable list that reflects the state of the initializing collection at the time the factory is invoked. This tells you that the code ls.set(1, "L3"), which is executed after the initialization of lc, will not affect lc List. Therefore, option C is incorrect.
By the way, the List.copyOf method was added in Java 10, and its behavior depends on whether the argument is already an unmodifiable list. If it is, the argument list is promptly returned. However, if the argument List might be mutable, an unmodifiable copy is created. This allows code to create unmodifiable copies when necessary without needlessly creating duplicates if the original was already modifiable.
The fourth List is created using the factory Collections.unmodifiableList(list). This method creates an unmodifiable view. An unmodifiable view is a type of view, so get operations on it return the data in the underlying List (that is, the List that’s the argument to the unmodifiableList factory method). If the underlying List is changed, the results reported by calling get on the view will change. However, any attempt to change the data by calling methods on the unmodifiable view itself will fail. Specifically, all such operations on the unmodifiable view (such as set, add, remove, or clear) throw an UnsupportedOperationException. In this question, the underlying List has been changed to contain [L1, L3], and so the output will contain lu=[L1, L3]. This means option D is correct.
Conclusion: The correct answers are options B, D, and F.