deleting elements

[nalinda]

how do i delete an element from an array? Give me the simplest way. And how do i do it without leaving gaps in the array?

[staykovmarin]

You cant, Arrays are a set size, you can set the contents to null, but then you will be left with "gaps".

Use HashMap, ArrayList, or one of the million other collection classes.

[hardwired]

Here's a couple of simple ways.

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String[] items = { "cat", "dog", "horse", "fish", "cow" };
        System.out.println("items = " + Arrays.toString(items));
        items = removeItemAt(2, items);
        System.out.println("items = " + Arrays.toString(items));
        items = remove(3, items);
        System.out.println("items = " + Arrays.toString(items));
    }

    private static String[] removeItemAt(int index, String[] array) {
        String[] retVal = new String[array.length-1];
        for(int j = 0, k = 0; j < array.length; j++) {
            if(j == index) continue;
            retVal[k++] = array[j];
        }
        return retVal;
    }
    
    private static String[] remove(int index, String[] array) {
        int len = array.length;
        String[] retVal = new String[len-1];
        System.arraycopy(array, 0, retVal, 0, index);
        System.arraycopy(array, index+1, retVal, index, len-index-1);
        return retVal;
    }

staykovmarin's way using collections is even easier. The designers say that collections run faster than arrays. One advantage of using arrays is that you don't have to deal with generics.