Various ways to iterate over commonly used collections viz ArrayList,HashMap,HashSet

Hello Friends,

In this tutorial ,we will see how to iterate over very commonly used collections viz. ArrayList, HashMap and HashSet.

1. How to iterate over an ArrayList

a)  Normal for loop

List list = new ArrayList();
list.add("a");
list.add("b");
for (int i = 0; i < list.size(); i++) {
       System.out.println(list.get(i));
}

b) Using Iterator - before Java 5

List list = new ArrayList();
list.add("a");
list.add("b");
for (Iterator itrList= list.iterator(); itrList.hasNext();) {
 System.out.println(itrList.next());
}

c) Using Iterator with For loop -After Java 5

List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("a");
list.add("b");
for (Iterator<String> itrList= list.iterator(); itrList.hasNext();) {
 System.out.println(itrList.next());
}

d) Using Iterator with while loop -After Java 5

List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("a");
list.add("b");
Iterator<String> itrList = list.iterator();
while(itrList.hasNext()){
   System.out.println(itrList.next());
}

e) Using ListIterator  

To traverse in forward direction

List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("a");
list.add("b");
ListIterator< String> lstItr = list.listIterator();
while(lstItr.hasNext()){
 String str = (String)lstItr.next();
 System.out.println(str);
}

To traverse in backward direction 

List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("a");
list.add("b"); 
ListIterator< String> lstItr = list.listIterator();
while(lstItr.hasPrevious()){
 String str = (String)lstItr.previous();
 System.out.println(str);
}

f) Using enhanced For Loop : Java 5 onwards

List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("a");
list.add("b");
for(String str : list){
 System.out.println(str);
}

g) using Lamda expression : Java 8 onwards

List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("a");
list.add("b");
list.forEach(listVal-> System.out.println(listVal));

2.How to iterate over HashMap

a) Using iterator  -Before Java 5

Map map = new HashMap();
map.put("a","a1");
map.put("b","b1");
Iterator itrMap = map.entrySet().iterator();
while (itrMap .hasNext()) {
    Map.Entry entry = (Map.Entry) itrMap.next();
    String key = (String)entry.getKey();
    String value = (String)entry.getValue();
    System.out.println("Key = " + key + ", Value = " + value);
}

b) Using iterator - After Java 5 

Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
map.put("a","a1");
map.put("b","b1");

Set<Entry<String,String>> entrySet = map.entrySet();
Iterator<Entry<String,String>> itrEntrySet  =entrySet .iterator();
     while (itrEntrySet.hasNext()) {
     Entry<String, String> entry = (Entry<String,String>)itrEntrySet.next();
     System.out.println("Key = " + entry.getKey() + ", Value = " + entry.getValue());
}

c) Using enhanced for loop - After Java 5 :Iterating over keys as well as values

Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
map.put("a","a1");
map.put("b","b1");
for (Map.Entry<String, String> entry : map.entrySet()) {
    System.out.println("Key = " + entry.getKey() + ", Value = " + entry.getValue());
}

d) Using enhanced for loop - After Java 5 :Iterating only over keys or values 

Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
map.put("a","a1");
map.put("b","b1");
for (String key : map.keySet()) {
    System.out.println("Key = " + key);
}
//iterating over values only
for (String value : map.values()) {
    System.out.println("Value = " + value);
}

e) Iterating over keys and searching for values 

Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
map.put("a","a1");
map.put("b","b1");
Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
for (String key : map.keySet()) {
    String value = map.get(key);
    System.out.println("Key = " + key + ", Value = " + value);
}

f) Using Lamda expression - Java 8 onwards

Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
map.put("a","a1");
map.put("b","b1");
map.forEach( (k,v) -> System.out.println("Key: " + k + ": Value: " + v));

3.How to iterate over HashSet

a) Using  Iterator  - Before Java 4

Set set = new HashSet();
set.add("x");
set.add("y");
Iterator itrSet = set.iterator();
while (itrSet .hasNext()) {
    System.out.println(itrSet.next());
}  

b) Using Iterator - After Java 5

Set<String> set = new HashSet<String>();
set.add("x"); 
set.add("y");
Iterator<String> itrSet = set.iterator();
while (itrSet .hasNext()) {
      System.out.println(itrSet .next());
} 

c)Using Enhanced For loop - After Java 5

Set<String> set = new HashSet<String>();
set.add("x"); 
set.add("y");
for (String s : set) {
 System.out.println(s);
}

d) Using Lamda expression - After Java 8

Set<String> set = new HashSet<String>();
set.add("x"); 
set.add("y");
set.forEach(val ->System.out.println(val));

Hope this was helpful.Any feedback ,suggestion,questions on the post are most welcome.