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javacollections

Getting and setting first and last elements of a List

Is there any better way to access the first and last locations on a Java list other than

curr.set(curr.size()-1, 10);
curr.get(curr.size()-1);
curr.set(0, 10);
curr.get(0);

where curr is a List?

Solution

  • If you use LinkedList you can get the last and first elements.

    LinkedList<String> linkedList = new LinkedList<>();
linkedList.add("element");

String last = linkedList.getLast();
String first = linkedList.getFirst();

    Both operations are constant time, but a NoSuchElementException will be thrown if the list is empty.