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How to iterate over a 2D list (list of lists) in Java

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Given a 2D list, the task is to iterate this 2D list in Java.

2D list (list of lists)
The 2D list refers to a list of lists, i.e. each row of the list is another list.

[
  [5, 10],
  [1], 
  [20, 30, 40]
] 

Iterate a 2D list: There are two ways of iterating over a list of list in Java.

  1. Iterating over the list of lists using loop:
    • Get the 2D list to the iterated
    • We need two for-each loops to iterate the 2D list successfully.
    • In the first for-each loop, each row of the 2D lists will be taken as a separate list
      for (List list : listOfLists)
       { }
      
    • In the second for-each loop, each item of the list in each row will be taken separately
      for (K item : list)
       { }
      
    • Hence we can do any operation on this item. Here we are printing the item.

    Below is the implementation of the above approach:




    // Java code to demonstrate the concept of
    // list of lists using loop
      
    import java.util.*;
    public class List_of_list {
      
        // Iterate the 2D list using loop
        // and print each element
        public static <K> void
        iterateUsingForEach(List<List<K> > listOfLists)
        {
      
            // Iterate the 2D list
            // and print each element
            System.out.println("[");
      
            for (List<K> list : listOfLists) {
                System.out.print("  [");
      
                for (K item : list) {
                    System.out.print("  "
                                     + item
                                     + ", ");
                }
                System.out.println("], ");
            }
            System.out.println("]");
        }
      
        // Driver code
        public static void main(String[] args)
        {
      
            // List of Lists
            ArrayList<List<Integer> > listOfLists
                = new ArrayList<List<Integer> >();
      
            // Create N lists one by one
            // and append to the list of lists
            List<Integer> list1
                = new ArrayList<Integer>();
            list1.add(5);
            list1.add(10);
            listOfLists.add(list1);
      
            List<Integer> list2
                = new ArrayList<Integer>();
            list2.add(1);
            listOfLists.add(list2);
      
            List<Integer> list3
                = new ArrayList<Integer>();
            list3.add(20);
            list3.add(30);
            list3.add(40);
            listOfLists.add(list3);
      
            // Iterate the 2D list
            iterateUsingForEach(listOfLists);
        }
    }

    
    

    Output:

    [
     [ 5,  10, ], 
     [ 1, ], 
     [ 20,  30,  40, ], 
    ]
    
  2. Iterating over the list of lists using iterator:
    • Get the 2D list to the iterated
    • We need two iterators to iterate the 2D list successfully.
    • The first iterator will iterate each row of the 2D lists as a separate list
      Iterator listOfListsIterator = listOfLists.iterator();
      
    • Each row of the 2D list can be obtained with the help of next() method of Iterator
      listOfListsIterator.next();
      

      But the next() method returns the Iterator as an Object’s object. Hence we need to cast this returned object into a list.

      list = (List)listOfListsIterator.next();
      
    • The second iterator will iterate each item of the list in each row separately
      Iterator eachListIterator = list.iterator();
      
    • Hence we can do any operation on this item. Here we are printing the item.

    Below is the implementation of the above approach:




    // Java code to demonstrate the concept of
    // list of lists using iterator
      
    import java.util.*;
      
    class List_of_list {
      
        // Iterate the 2D list using Iterator
        // and print each element
        public static <K> void
        iterateUsingIterator(List<List<K> > listOfLists)
        {
            // Iterator for the 2D list
            Iterator listOfListsIterator
                = listOfLists.iterator();
      
            System.out.println("[");
            while (listOfListsIterator.hasNext()) {
      
                // Type cast next() method
                // to convert from Object to List<K>
                List<K> list = new ArrayList<K>();
      
                list = (List<K>)listOfListsIterator.next();
      
                // Iterator for list
                Iterator eachListIterator
                    = list.iterator();
      
                System.out.print("  [");
                while (eachListIterator.hasNext()) {
      
                    System.out.print(
                        "  "
                        + eachListIterator.next()
                        + ", ");
                }
                System.out.println("], ");
            }
            System.out.println("]");
        }
      
        // Driver code
        public static void main(String[] args)
        {
      
            // List of Lists
            ArrayList<List<Integer> > listOfLists
                = new ArrayList<List<Integer> >();
      
            // Create N lists one by one
            // and append to the list of lists
            List<Integer> list1
                = new ArrayList<Integer>();
            list1.add(5);
            list1.add(10);
            listOfLists.add(list1);
      
            List<Integer> list2
                = new ArrayList<Integer>();
            list2.add(1);
            listOfLists.add(list2);
      
            List<Integer> list3
                = new ArrayList<Integer>();
            list3.add(20);
            list3.add(30);
            list3.add(40);
            listOfLists.add(list3);
      
            // Iterate the 2D list
            iterateUsingIterator(listOfLists);
        }
    }

    
    

    Output:

    [
     [ 5,  10, ], 
     [ 1, ], 
     [ 20,  30,  40, ], 
    ]
    


Last Updated : 17 Mar, 2020
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