Java 8 – How to Merge or Concatenate 2 Arrays using Stream API ?

In this article, we will discuss how to merge or concatenate 2 Arrays of same type using Java 8 Stream API. Already in the previous articles we have discussed about merging/concatenating 2 Arrays using different approaches,

Java 8 Stream API – Merging 2 Arrays:

Instead of simply merging using Stream API, we are going to discuss removing duplicates & sorting after merging,

  1. Merging 2 Arrays
    • Merging 2 Arrays using Stream.of() method
    • Concatenating 2 Arrays using Stream.concat() method
  2. Merging 2 Arrays and removing duplicates
  3. Merging 2 Arrays and removing duplicates and sorting
  4. Merging 2 Arrays and returning merged Array

1. Merging 2 Arrays:

  • We are going to discuss 2 different approaches of merging/concatenating 2 Arrays using Stream API i.e.,
    • Using Stream.of() method
    • Using Stream.concat() method

1.1 Merging 2 Arrays using Stream.of() method

  • There are 2 String[] Arrays defined and some names are repeated in both Arrays
  • Stream.of() – this method helps to merge 2 or more Arrays by passing those Arrays as input arguments
  • Stream.flatMap() – this method helps to flattens the multiple Array structure into single Array
  • Stream.toArray() – this method converts Stream into Array by passing Constructor ReferenceString[]::new” as argument

MergeTwoArraysUsingJava8StreamOf.java

package in.bench.resources.merge.arrays;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.stream.Stream;

public class MergeTwoArraysUsingJava8StreamOf {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// String[] array 1
		String[] names1 = {
				"Balazs",
				"Vikrant",
				"Mohasin",
				"Ahmed"
		};


		// print 1st String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("String[] Array 1 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names1));


		// String[] array 1
		String[] names2 = {
				"Vihar",
				"Balazs",
				"Roshan",
				"Vikrant"
		};


		// print 2nd String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nString[] Array 2 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names2));


		// Merge or Concatenate 2 Arrays using Stream.of()
		String[] mergedNames = Stream
				.of(names1, names2) // merging
				.flatMap(Stream::of) // flattening
				.toArray(String[]::new); // converting to Array


		// print merged String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nAfter merging both String[] Arrays - \n" 
				+ Arrays.toString(mergedNames));
	}
}

Output:

String[] Array 1 - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed]

String[] Array 2 - 
[Vihar, Balazs, Roshan, Vikrant]

After merging both String[] Arrays - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed, Vihar, Balazs, Roshan, Vikrant]

1.2 Concatenating 2 Arrays using Stream.concat() method

  • There are 2 String[] Arrays defined and some names are repeated in both Arrays
  • Stream.concat() – this method helps to merge 2 or more Arrays by passing those Arrays as input arguments
  • Stream.toArray() – this method converts Stream into Array by passing Constructor ReferenceString[]::new” as argument

MergeTwoArraysUsingJava8StreamConcat.java

package in.bench.resources.merge.arrays;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.stream.Stream;

public class MergeTwoArraysUsingJava8StreamConcat {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// String[] array 1
		String[] names1 = {
				"Balazs",
				"Vikrant",
				"Mohasin",
				"Ahmed"
		};


		// print 1st String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("String[] Array 1 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names1));


		// String[] array 1
		String[] names2 = {
				"Vihar",
				"Balazs",
				"Roshan",
				"Vikrant"
		};


		// print 2nd String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nString[] Array 2 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names2));


		// Merge or Concatenate 2 Arrays using Stream.concat()
		String[] mergedNames = Stream
				.concat(Arrays.stream(names1), Arrays.stream(names2)) // merging & flattening
				.toArray(String[]::new); // converting to Array


		// print merged String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nAfter merging both String[] Arrays - \n" 
				+ Arrays.toString(mergedNames));
	}
}

Output:

String[] Array 1 - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed]

String[] Array 2 - 
[Vihar, Balazs, Roshan, Vikrant]

After merging both String[] Arrays - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed, Vihar, Balazs, Roshan, Vikrant]

2. Merging 2 Arrays and removing duplicates:

  • There are 2 String[] Arrays defined and some names are repeated in both Arrays
  • Stream.of() – this method helps to merge 2 or more Arrays by passing those Arrays as input arguments
  • Stream.flatMap() – this method helps to flattens the multiple Array structure into single Array
  • Stream.distinct() – this method removes duplicate elements from Stream
  • Stream.toArray() – this method converts Stream into Array by passing Constructor ReferenceString[]::new” as argument

MergeTwoArraysAndRemoveDuplicatesUsingJava8.java

package in.bench.resources.merge.arrays;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.stream.Stream;

public class MergeTwoArraysAndRemoveDuplicatesUsingJava8 {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// String[] array 1
		String[] names1 = {
				"Balazs",
				"Vikrant",
				"Mohasin",
				"Ahmed"
		};


		// print 1st String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("String[] Array 1 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names1));


		// String[] array 1
		String[] names2 = {
				"Vihar",
				"Balazs",
				"Roshan",
				"Vikrant"
		};


		// print 2nd String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nString[] Array 2 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names2));


		// Merge or Concatenate 2 Arrays using Stream.of()
		String[] mergedNames = Stream
				.of(names1, names2) // merging
				.flatMap(Stream::of) // flattening
				.distinct() // removes duplicates
				.toArray(String[]::new); // converting to Array


		// print merged/unique String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nAfter merging and removing duplicates from both String[] Arrays - \n" 
				+ Arrays.toString(mergedNames));
	}
}

Output:

String[] Array 1 - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed]

String[] Array 2 - 
[Vihar, Balazs, Roshan, Vikrant]

After merging and removing duplicates from both String[] Arrays - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed, Vihar, Roshan]

3. Merging 2 Arrays and removing duplicates and sorting:

  • There are 2 String[] Arrays defined and some names are repeated in both Arrays
  • Stream.of() – this method helps to merge 2 or more Arrays by passing those Arrays as input arguments
  • Stream.flatMap() – this method helps to flattens the multiple Array structure into single Array
  • Stream.distinct() – this method removes duplicate elements from Stream
  • Stream.sorted() – this method sorts Stream elements in natural alphabetical-order
  • Stream.toArray() – this method converts Stream into Array by passing Constructor ReferenceString[]::new” as argument

MergeTwoArraysAndRemoveDuplicatesAndSortingUsingJava8.java

package in.bench.resources.merge.arrays;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.stream.Stream;

public class MergeTwoArraysAndRemoveDuplicatesAndSortingUsingJava8 {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// String[] array 1
		String[] names1 = {
				"Balazs",
				"Vikrant",
				"Mohasin",
				"Ahmed"
		};


		// print 1st String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("String[] Array 1 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names1));


		// String[] array 1
		String[] names2 = {
				"Vihar",
				"Balazs",
				"Roshan",
				"Vikrant"
		};


		// print 2nd String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nString[] Array 2 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names2));


		// Merge or Concatenate 2 Arrays using Stream.of()
		String[] mergedNames = Stream
				.of(names1, names2) // merging
				.flatMap(Stream::of) // flattening
				.distinct() // removes duplicates
				.sorted() // sorting in alphabetical order
				.toArray(String[]::new); // converting to Array


		// print merged/unique String[] Array in ascending order
		System.out.println("\nSorted String[] Array - After merging and removing duplicates - \n" 
				+ Arrays.toString(mergedNames));
	}
}

Output:

String[] Array 1 - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed]

String[] Array 2 - 
[Vihar, Balazs, Roshan, Vikrant]

Sorted String[] Array - After merging and removing duplicates - 
[Ahmed, Balazs, Mohasin, Roshan, Vihar, Vikrant]

4. Merging 2 Arrays and returning merged Array:

  • This illustration is very much similar to 2nd example except that it returns Array from method after conversion
  • From main() method, we are invoking another method called “mergeArrays()” for converting 2 Arrays into single merged Array by removing duplicates and then returning merged Array
  • Inside method we are doing,
    • Stream.of() – this method helps to merge 2 or more Arrays by passing those Arrays as input arguments
    • Stream.flatMap() – this method helps to flattens the multiple Array structure into single Array
    • Stream.distinct() – this method removes duplicate elements from Stream
    • Stream.toArray() – this method converts Stream into Array by passing Constructor ReferenceString[]::new” as argument
  • Finally, printing merged Array elements with unique names to the console

MergeTwoArraysAndReturnArrayUsingJava8.java

package in.bench.resources.merge.arrays;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.stream.Stream;

public class MergeTwoArraysAndReturnArrayUsingJava8 {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		// String[] array 1
		String[] names1 = {
				"Balazs",
				"Vikrant",
				"Mohasin",
				"Ahmed"
		};


		// print 1st String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("String[] Array 1 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names1));


		// String[] array 1
		String[] names2 = {
				"Vihar",
				"Balazs",
				"Roshan",
				"Vikrant"
		};


		// print 2nd String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nString[] Array 2 - \n" + Arrays.toString(names2));


		// invoke mergeArrays() method
		String[] mergedNames = mergeArrays(names1, names2);


		// print merged/unique String[] Array to console
		System.out.println("\nAfter merging and removing duplicates from both String[] Arrays - \n" 
				+ Arrays.toString(mergedNames));
	}


	// method to merge both Arrays
	public static String[] mergeArrays(String[] strArray1, String[] strArray2) {

		// Merge or Concatenate 2 Arrays using Stream.of()
		String[] mergedNames = Stream
				.of(strArray1, strArray2) // merging
				.flatMap(Stream::of) // flattening
				.distinct() // removes duplicates
				.toArray(String[]::new); // converting to Array

		// return 
		return mergedNames;
	}
}

Output:

String[] Array 1 - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed]

String[] Array 2 - 
[Vihar, Balazs, Roshan, Vikrant]

After merging and removing duplicates from both String[] Arrays - 
[Balazs, Vikrant, Mohasin, Ahmed, Vihar, Roshan]

Hope, everyone found this article very useful while converting multiple Arrays into single Array using Java 8 Stream APIs

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Happy Coding !!
Happy Learning !!

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