How to Merge Two Lists and Remove Duplicates in Scala?

In Scala, lists are flexible data structures that are crucial for many programming tasks. They help in organizing and handling collections of items effectively. Knowing how to work with lists efficiently is vital for anyone coding in Scala. In this article, we’ll explore how to combine two lists and get rid of any repeating items. We’ll cover these topics thoroughly, providing clear explanations and practical examples to help you grasp these concepts easily.

What is a List in Scala?

A list is an ordered collection of elements of the same type. Unlike arrays, lists are immutable, meaning that once created, their elements cannot be modified. Lists are created using the List class in Scala, and they support various operations such as appending elements, accessing elements by index, and more.

Below is the Scala program to implement the List:

Scala

object HelloWorld {

  // Main method
  def main(args: Array[String]) {

    // Define a list of integers
    val numbers: List[Int] = List(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);

    // Define a list of strings
    val fruits: List[String] = List("Apple", "Banana", "Orange", "Grape", "Pineapple");

    // Define an empty list
    val emptyList: List[Int] = List();

    // Accessing elements of a list
    println("First element of numbers list: " + numbers.headOption.getOrElse("List is empty")); // Output: 1
    println("Last element of fruits list: " + fruits.lastOption.getOrElse("List is empty")); // Output: Pineapple

    // Adding elements to a list
    val updatedNumbers = numbers :+ 6; // Add element at the end
    val updatedFruits = "Mango" :: fruits; // Add element at the beginning

    // Display the updated lists
    println("Updated numbers list: " + updatedNumbers); // Output: List(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
    println("Updated fruits list: " + updatedFruits); // Output: List(Mango, Apple, Banana, Orange, Grape, Pineapple)
  }
}

Output:

Explanation:

1. A list of integers numbers and a list of strings fruits are defined.
2. An empty list emptyList is also defined.
3. To access the elements of a list the head and last methods are used.
4. The elements are added to the list using :+ (append) and :: (prepend) operators.
5. The updated lists is displayed to observe the changes.

Merging Two Lists in Scala

Merging two lists involves combining their elements to form a single list. In Scala, you can merge two lists using the ++ operator or the ::: method. Below is the Scala program to implement both the approaches:

Scala

object HelloWorld {
   def main(args: Array[String]) {
      // Define two lists
      val list1 = List(1, 2, 3)
      val list2 = List(4, 5, 6)

      // Method 1: Using the ++ operator
      val mergedList1 = list1 ++ list2

      // Method 2: Using the ::: method
      val mergedList2 = list1 ::: list2

      // Display the merged lists
      println("Merged List (Using ++ operator): " + mergedList1)
      println("Merged List (Using ::: method): " + mergedList2)
   }
}

Output:

Implementation of Removing Duplicates from a List

Removing duplicates from a list involves eliminating duplicate elements to ensure each element appears only once in the resulting list. In Scala, you can achieve this by converting the list to a set and then back to a list, or by using the distinct method. Below is the Scala program to implement both the approaches:

Scala

object HelloWorld {
   def main(args: Array[String]) {
      // Define a list with duplicate elements
      val listWithDuplicates = List(1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 3, 5);

      // Method 1: Using conversion to set and back to list
      val uniqueList1 = listWithDuplicates.toSet.toList;

      // Method 2: Using the distinct method
      val uniqueList2 = listWithDuplicates.distinct;

      // Display the unique lists
      println("Unique List (Using set conversion): " + uniqueList1);
      println("Unique List (Using distinct method): " + uniqueList2);

   }
}

Output: