Java 8 – Iterating List from JDK 1.0 to Java 1.8 version in 7 ways

In this article, we will discuss how to iterate/print List (ArrayList/LinkedList) from Java 1.0 to Java 1.8 version.

In one of the previous article, we already discussed about various ways to iterate through ArrayList – 5 ways but here we are going to categorize different ways to iterarte through List based on Java versions.

Different ways to iterate through List :

  1. for-loop from JDK 1.0 version
  2. while-loop from JDK 1.0 version
  3. Iterator interface from Java 1.2 version
  4. ListIterator interface from Java 1.2 version
  5. Enhanced for-loop from Java 1.5 version
  6. List and Collection‘s forEach loop from Java 1.8 version
  7. Stream‘s forEach loop from Java 1.8 version

1. JDK 1.0 version

  1. traditional/regular/standard for-loop
  2. while-loop

1.1 for-loop

  • It is the oldest-style of iterating & printing List items
  • Steps required are
    • initializing an index
    • setting up upper limit for index
    • incrementing the index-value for every iteration
  • List items can be accessed using index-position

IteratingListUsingForLoop.java

package net.bench.resources.iterating.list;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class IteratingListUsingForLoop {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// creating ArrayList object of type String
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>();

		// adding elements to ArrayList object
		names.add("Ashneer Grover");
		names.add("Aman Gupta");  
		names.add("Anupam Mittal");  
		names.add("Ghazal Alagh");
		names.add("Namita Thapar");
		names.add("Peyush Bansal");
		names.add("Vineeta Singh");


		// since JDK 1.0 - Iterating using for-loop
		System.out.println("Since JDK 1.0 - Iterating using regular for-loop : \n");


		for(int index = 0; index < names.size(); index++) {
			System.out.println(names.get(index));
		}
	}
}

Output:

Since JDK 1.0 - Iterating using regular for-loop : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

1.2 while-loop

  • It is also oldest-style of iterating & printing List items
  • Steps required are
    • initializing an index
    • setting up upper limit for index
    • incrementing the index-value after/before every iteration (based on requirement)
  • List items can be accessed using index-position

IteratingListUsingWhileLoop.java

package net.bench.resources.iterating.list;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class IteratingListUsingWhileLoop {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// creating ArrayList object of type String
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>();

		// adding elements to ArrayList object
		names.add("Ashneer Grover");
		names.add("Aman Gupta");  
		names.add("Anupam Mittal");  
		names.add("Ghazal Alagh");
		names.add("Namita Thapar");
		names.add("Peyush Bansal");
		names.add("Vineeta Singh");


		// since JDK 1.0 - Iterating using while-loop
		System.out.println("Since JDK 1.0 - Iterating using while-loop : \n");


		// initializing counter
		int index = 0;

		// iterating using while-loop
		while(index < names.size()){

			// print to console
			System.out.println(names.get(index));
			index++;
		}
	}
}

Output:

Since JDK 1.0 - Iterating using while-loop : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

2. Java 1.2 version

  1. Iterator interface
  2. ListIterator interface

2.1 Iterator interface

  • This is part of Collection framework introduced in Java 1.2 version which has few useful methods to iterate and print Collection items viz.;
    • iterator() – to get the iterator
    • hasNext() – to check whether there are any items still left in the Collection
    • next() – to get the next item after checking whether there are any items present in Collection using hasNext() method
  • Unlike for-loop and while-loop, Iterator interface doesn’t allow to access items based on index-position
  • Limitation: iterator allows to move in Forward direction only

IteratingListUsingIterator.java

package net.bench.resources.iterating.list;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;

public class IteratingListUsingIterator {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// creating ArrayList object of type String
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>();

		// adding elements to ArrayList object
		names.add("Ashneer Grover");
		names.add("Aman Gupta");  
		names.add("Anupam Mittal");  
		names.add("Ghazal Alagh");
		names.add("Namita Thapar");
		names.add("Peyush Bansal");
		names.add("Vineeta Singh");


		// since Java 1.2 - Iterating using Iterator
		System.out.println("Since Java 1.2 - Iterating using Iterator : \n");


		// Iterator
		Iterator<String> iterator = names.iterator();


		// Iterate using Iterator and regular while-loop
		while(iterator.hasNext()){
			System.out.println(iterator.next());
		}
	}
}

Output:

Since Java 1.2 - Iterating using Iterator : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

2.2 ListIterator interface

  • This is also part of Collection framework introduced in Java 1.2 version specific to List interface which has useful methods to iterate/print List items in both directions viz.; forward and backward
  • Forward direction :
    • listIterator() – to get list iterator from List
    • hasNext() – to check whether there are any items still left in the List in forward direction
    • next() – to get the next item after checking whether there are any items present in List using hasNext() method
  • Backward direction :
    • listIterator() – to get list iterator from List
    • hasPrevious() – to check whether there are any items still left in the List in backward direction
    • previous() – to get the previous item after checking whether there are any items present in List using hasPrevious() method
  • Like Iterator interface, ListIterator also doesn’t allow to access items based on index-position

IteratingListUsingListIterator.java

package net.bench.resources.iterating.list;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.ListIterator;

public class IteratingListUsingListIterator {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// creating ArrayList object of type String
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>();

		// adding elements to ArrayList object
		names.add("Ashneer Grover");
		names.add("Aman Gupta");  
		names.add("Anupam Mittal");  
		names.add("Ghazal Alagh");
		names.add("Namita Thapar");
		names.add("Peyush Bansal");
		names.add("Vineeta Singh");


		// ListIterator
		ListIterator<String> listIterator = names.listIterator();


		// since Java 1.2 - Iterating using ListIterator
		System.out.println("1. Since Java 1.2 - Iterating using ListIterator "
				+ "in FORWARD direction : \n");


		// Forward iterating
		while(listIterator.hasNext()){
			System.out.println(listIterator.next());
		}


		// since Java 1.2 - Iterating using ListIterator
		System.out.println("\n\n2. Since Java 1.2 - Iterating using ListIterator "
				+ "in BACKWARD direction : \n");


		// Backward iterating
		while(listIterator.hasPrevious()){
			System.out.println(listIterator.previous());
		}
	}
}

Output:

1. Since Java 1.2 - Iterating using ListIterator in FORWARD direction : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh


2. Since Java 1.2 - Iterating using ListIterator in BACKWARD direction : 

Vineeta Singh
Peyush Bansal
Namita Thapar
Ghazal Alagh
Anupam Mittal
Aman Gupta
Ashneer Grover

3. Java 1.5 version

  1. enhanced for-loop

3.1 Enhanced for-loop

  • This is the new style of writing for-loop where it isn’t required to initialize/increment the starting value
  • Moreover, there is no feasibility to access items based on index-postion
  • Just access the List items as per the insertion-order while iterating enhanced for-loop

IteratingListUsingEnhancedLoop.java

package net.bench.resources.iterating.list;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class IteratingListUsingEnhancedLoop {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// creating ArrayList object of type String
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>();

		// adding elements to ArrayList object
		names.add("Ashneer Grover");
		names.add("Aman Gupta");  
		names.add("Anupam Mittal");  
		names.add("Ghazal Alagh");
		names.add("Namita Thapar");
		names.add("Peyush Bansal");
		names.add("Vineeta Singh");


		// since Java 1.5 - Iterating using for-loop
		System.out.println("Since Java 1.5 - Iterating using enhanced for-loop : \n");


		// iterating enhanced for each loop
		for(String name : names) {
			System.out.println(name);
		}
	}
}

Output:

Since Java 1.5 - Iterating using enhanced for-loop : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

4. Java 1.8 version

  1. Collection and List’s forEach loop
  2. Stream’s forEach loop

4.1 Collection’s forEach loop

  • This is the newest style of writing for-loop which takes 1 input parameter called Functional Interface Consumer<E>
  • Functional Interface Consumer<E> can be passed in the form of Lambda Expression or Method Reference

IteratingListUsingForEach.java

package net.bench.resources.iterating.list;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class IteratingListUsingForEach {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// creating ArrayList object of type String
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>();

		// adding elements to ArrayList object
		names.add("Ashneer Grover");
		names.add("Aman Gupta");  
		names.add("Anupam Mittal");  
		names.add("Ghazal Alagh");
		names.add("Namita Thapar");
		names.add("Peyush Bansal");
		names.add("Vineeta Singh");


		// since Java 1.8 - Iterating using for-loop
		System.out.println("Since Java 1.8 - Iterating using forEach : \n\n");


		// 1. lambda expression
		System.out.println("1. using Lambda expression : \n");
		names.forEach(name -> System.out.println(name));


		// 2. Method Reference
		System.out.println("\n2. using Method Reference : \n");
		names.forEach(System.out::println);
	}
}

Output:

Since Java 1.8 - Iterating using forEach : 


1. using Lambda expression : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

2. using Method Reference : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

4.2 Stream.forEach loop

  • The newly introduced Stream concept in Java 1.8 version can be used to iterate and print List items
  • Unlike Collection‘s forEach loop, this has more features than to just simply iterating and printing Collection/List items i.e.; processing Collection/List items
  • Stream.forEach() method accepts 1 input parameter called Functional Interface Consumer<E>
  • Functional Interface Consumer<E> can be passed in the form of Lambda Expression or Method Reference

IteratingListUsingStreamForEach.java

package net.bench.resources.iterating.list;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class IteratingListUsingStreamForEach {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// creating ArrayList object of type String
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>();

		// adding elements to ArrayList object
		names.add("Ashneer Grover");
		names.add("Aman Gupta");  
		names.add("Anupam Mittal");  
		names.add("Ghazal Alagh");
		names.add("Namita Thapar");
		names.add("Peyush Bansal");
		names.add("Vineeta Singh");


		// since Java 1.8 - Iterating using for-loop
		System.out.println("Since Java 1.8 - Iterating using Stream.forEach : \n\n");


		// 1. lambda expression
		System.out.println("1. using Lambda expression : \n");
		names.stream().forEach(name -> System.out.println(name));


		// 2. Method Reference
		System.out.println("\n2. using Method Reference : \n");
		names.stream().forEach(System.out::println);
	}
}

Output:

Since Java 1.8 - Iterating using Stream.forEach : 


1. using Lambda expression : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

2. using Method Reference : 

Ashneer Grover
Aman Gupta
Anupam Mittal
Ghazal Alagh
Namita Thapar
Peyush Bansal
Vineeta Singh

Related Articles:

References:

Happy Coding !!
Happy Learning !!

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Java 8 - Types of interface