Intersection and union of ArrayLists in Java

Question

Are there any methods to do so? I was looking but couldn\'t find any.

Another question: I need these methods so I can filter files. Some are AND filter

Answer 1

Final solution:

//all sorted items from both
public <T> List<T> getListReunion(List<T> list1, List<T> list2) {
    Set<T> set = new HashSet<T>();
    set.addAll(list1);
    set.addAll(list2);
    return new ArrayList<T>(set);
}

//common items from both
public <T> List<T> getListIntersection(List<T> list1, List<T> list2) {
    list1.retainAll(list2);
    return list1;
}

//common items from list1 not present in list2
public <T> List<T> getListDifference(List<T> list1, List<T> list2) {
    list1.removeAll(list2);
    return list1;
}

Answer 2

I was also working on the similar situation and reached here searching for help. Ended up finding my own solution for Arrays. ArrayList AbsentDates = new ArrayList(); // Will Store Array1-Array2

Note : Posting this if it can help someone reaching this page for help.

ArrayList<String> AbsentDates = new ArrayList<String>();//This Array will store difference
      public void AbsentDays() {
            findDates("April", "2017");//Array one with dates in Month April 2017
            findPresentDays();//Array two carrying some dates which are subset of Dates in Month April 2017

            for (int i = 0; i < Dates.size(); i++) {

                for (int j = 0; j < PresentDates.size(); j++) {

                    if (Dates.get(i).equals(PresentDates.get(j))) {

                        Dates.remove(i);
                    }               

                }              
                AbsentDates = Dates;   
            }
            System.out.println(AbsentDates );
        }

Answer 3

public static <T> Set<T> intersectCollections(Collection<T> col1, Collection<T> col2) {
    Set<T> set1, set2;
    if (col1 instanceof Set) {
        set1 = (Set) col1;
    } else {
        set1 = new HashSet<>(col1);
    }

    if (col2 instanceof Set) {
        set2 = (Set) col2;
    } else {
        set2 = new HashSet<>(col2);
    }

    Set<T> intersection = new HashSet<>(Math.min(set1.size(), set2.size()));

    for (T t : set1) {
        if (set2.contains(t)) {
            intersection.add(t);
        }
    }

    return intersection;
}

JDK8+ (Probably Best Performance)

public static <T> Set<T> intersectCollections(Collection<T> col1, Collection<T> col2) {
    boolean isCol1Larger = col1.size() > col2.size();
    Set<T> largerSet;
    Collection<T> smallerCol;

    if (isCol1Larger) {
        if (col1 instanceof Set) {
            largerSet = (Set<T>) col1;
        } else {
            largerSet = new HashSet<>(col1);
        }
        smallerCol = col2;
    } else {
        if (col2 instanceof Set) {
            largerSet = (Set<T>) col2;
        } else {
            largerSet = new HashSet<>(col2);
        }
        smallerCol = col1;
    }

    return smallerCol.stream()
            .filter(largerSet::contains)
            .collect(Collectors.toSet());
}

If you don't care about performance and prefer smaller code just use:

col1.stream().filter(col2::contains).collect(Collectors.toList());

Answer 4

If the objects in the list are hashable (i.e. have a decent hashCode and equals function), the fastest approach between tables approx. size > 20 is to construct a HashSet for the larger of the two lists.

public static <T> ArrayList<T> intersection(Collection<T> a, Collection<T> b) {
    if (b.size() > a.size()) {
        return intersection(b, a);
    } else {
        if (b.size() > 20 && !(a instanceof HashSet)) {
            a = new HashSet(a);
        }
        ArrayList<T> result = new ArrayList();
        for (T objb : b) {
            if (a.contains(objb)) {
                result.add(objb);
            }
        }
        return result;
    }
}

Answer 5

You can use CollectionUtils from apache commons.

Answer 6

One-liners since Java 8

import static java.util.stream.Stream.concat;
import static java.util.stream.Collectors.toList;
import static java.util.stream.Collectors.toSet;

Union if there are no duplicates:

  return concat(a.stream(), b.stream()).collect(toList());

Union and distinct:

  return concat(a.stream(), b.stream()).distinct().collect(toList());

Union and distinct if Collection/Set return type:

  return concat(a.stream(), b.stream()).collect(toSet());

Intersect if no duplicates:

  return a.stream().filter(b::contains).collect(toList());

If collection b is huge and not O(1), then pre-optimize filter performance by adding 1 line before return. Copy to HasSet (import java.util.Set;):

... b = Set.copyOf(b);

Intersect and distinct:

  return a.stream().distinct().filter(b::contains).collect(toList());