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Java List Sorting

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Java List Sorting

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Java Sort a List

Another useful class in the java.util package is the Collections class, which include the sort() method for sorting lists alphabetically or numerically.

Sort an ArrayList

Sort an ArrayList of Strings alphabetically in ascending order:

Example

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;  // Import the Collections class
public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>();
    cars.add("Volvo");
    cars.add("BMW");
    cars.add("Ford");
    cars.add("Mazda");
    Collections.sort(cars);  // Sort cars
    for (String i : cars) {
      System.out.println(i);
    }
}
}

Sort an ArrayList of Integers numerically in ascending order:

Example

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;  // Import the Collections class
public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    ArrayList<Integer> myNumbers = new ArrayList<Integer>();
    myNumbers.add(33);
    myNumbers.add(15);
    myNumbers.add(20);
    myNumbers.add(34);
    myNumbers.add(8);
    myNumbers.add(12);
    Collections.sort(myNumbers);  // Sort myNumbers
    for (int i : myNumbers) {
      System.out.println(i);
    }
}
}

Reverse the Order

You can also sort a list in reverse order, by using the reverseOrder() method.

In the following example, we sort an ArrayList of Strings alphabetically in reverse/descending order:

Example

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;  // Import the Collections class
public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    ArrayList<String> cars = new ArrayList<String>();
    cars.add("Volvo");
    cars.add("BMW");
    cars.add("Ford");
    cars.add("Mazda");
    Collections.sort(cars, Collections.reverseOrder()); // Sort cars
    for (String i : cars) {
      System.out.println(i);
    }
}
}

Sort an ArrayList of Integers numerically in reverse/descending order:

Example

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;  // Import the Collections class
public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    ArrayList<Integer> myNumbers = new ArrayList<Integer>();
    myNumbers.add(33);
    myNumbers.add(15);
    myNumbers.add(20);
    myNumbers.add(34);
    myNumbers.add(8);
    myNumbers.add(12);
    Collections.sort(myNumbers, Collections.reverseOrder()); // Sort myNumbers
    for (int i : myNumbers) {
      System.out.println(i);
    }
}
}

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This chapter

Overview
16

Lessons

58m

Read time

1. Java Data Structures2. Java Collections Framework3. Java List4. Java ArrayList5. Java LinkedList6. Java List Sorting7. Java Set8. Java HashSet9. Java TreeSet10. Java LinkedHashSet11. Java Map12. Java HashMap13. Java TreeMap14. Java LinkedHashMap15. Java Iterator16. Java Algorithms

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Java Sort a ListSort an ArrayListReverse the Order