The Kotlin List Class

This chapter introduces Kotlin lists. Some issues are:

• Mutable vs. immutable
• Handling null values
• Different types of lists

Note: This chapter has a number of TODO items, but it currently shows how to create a variety of different list types.

Creation functions

Use these functions to create lists in Kotlin:

Examples:

val list = listOf(1, 2, 3)
val list = arrayListOf(1, 2, 3)
val list = mutableListOf("a", "b", "c")

// empty lists
val list = listOf<Int>()
val list = arrayListOf<Double>()
val list = mutableListOf<String>()
val list: List<Int> = emptyList()

// nullability (implicit or explicit)
val list = listOf("a", null)                  // [a, null]
val list: List<String?> = listOf("a", null)   // [a, null]

val list = arrayListOf("a", null)             // [a, null]
val list = mutableListOf("a", null)           // [a, null]
val list = listOfNotNull<String>("a", null)   // [a]
val list = listOfNotNull("a", null)           // [a]

// comparison: listOf vs listOfNotNull
val list = listOf("a", null)                  // [a, null]
val list = listOfNotNull("a", null)           // [a]

Per the Kotlin docs, the difference between listOf and listOfNotNull:

• listOf: Returns an immutable list containing only the specified object element.
• listOfNotNull: Returns a new read-only list either of single given element, if it is not null, or empty list if the element is null.

Understanding casting

Some examples of casting and explicitly declaring list types:

val a: List<Int>               = listOf(1,2,3)
val b: Collection<Int>         = listOf(1,2,3)
val c: Iterable<Int>           = listOf(1,2,3)

val a: MutableList<Int>        = mutableListOf(1,2,3)
val b: List<Int>               = mutableListOf(1,2,3)
val c: MutableCollection<Int>  = mutableListOf(1,2,3)
val d: Collection<Int>         = mutableListOf(1,2,3)
val e: Iterable<Int>           = mutableListOf(1,2,3)
val f: MutableIterable<Int>    = mutableListOf(1,2,3)

val a: ArrayList<Int>          = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val b: AbstractList<Int>       = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val c: MutableList<Int>        = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val d: AbstractCollection<Int> = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val e: MutableCollection<Int>  = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val f: Collection<Int>         = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val g: MutableIterable<Int>    = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val h: Iterable<Int>           = arrayListOf(1,2,3)
val i: List<Int>               = arrayListOf(1,2,3)