ArrayList not using the overridden equals

Question

I\'m having a problem with getting an ArrayList to correctly use an overriden equals. the problem is that I\'m trying to use the equals to only test for a single key field, and

Answer 1

There are a few issues with your code. My suggestion would be to avoid overriding the equals entirely if you are not familiar with it and extend it into a new implementation like so...

class MyCustomArrayList extends ArrayList{

    public boolean containsString(String value){
        for(InnerClass item : this){
            if (item.getString().equals(value){
                return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

}

Then you can do something like

List myList = new MyCustomArrayList()
myList.containsString("some string");

I suggest this because if you override the equals should also override the hashCode and it seems you are lacking a little knowledge in this area - so i would just avoid it.

Also, the contains method calls the equals method which is why you are seeing the "reached here". Again if you don't understand the call flow i would just avoid it.