.contains() method not working -- finding an int in array Java

Question

I have been looking for hours, all over the internet and SO, but cannot find anything that I understand! ( Very new at Java )

Upon compiling, it cannot find symbol of the contain method. Here is the code:

public class LotteryTicket {
  private String nameOfBuyer;
  private int[] numberList;

  private boolean search(int val) {
    if (val >= 1 && val <= 50) {
      if (numberList.contains(val)) {
        return true;
      } else {
        return false;
      }
    }
  }

I am very new at learning, and I do not know why this is happening.

Answer 1

int[] is a primitive array and does not have a method .contains(). If you used List<Integer> instead, that would give you a .contains() method to call.

Also, your search method must return a value even when val < 1 or val > 50.

If you need numberList to be an int[], you could try this:

private boolean search(int val) {
    if (numberList != null && val >= 1 && val <= 50) {
        for(int number : numberList) {
            if (number == val) {
                return true;
            }
        }
    }
    return false;
}

Or, you could do this:

private boolean search(int val) {
    if (numberList != null && val >= 1 && val <= 50) {
        return Arrays.asList(numberList).contains(val);
    }
    return false;
}