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Java Java Data Structures Exploring the Java Collection Framework ArrayLists

Diego Marrs
Diego Marrs
8,243 Points

Question about challenge.

I have a few questions about this challenge:

private List<String> getExternalLinks() {
    List<String> result = new ArrayList<String>();
    for (String word : getWords()) {
      if (word.startsWith("http")) {
        result.add(word);
      }
    }
    return result;
  }
  1. Why should the method be public?
  2. How come we don't use getBody()?

Also, i'm still a little confused on lists vs. arrays.

Help is appreciated!

1 Answer

Diego,

1) if it is private then it would not be available from other classes. See https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/javaOO/accesscontrol.html for more detail.

2) getBody() returns the text, but to find http it's easier to first split the body text into separate words, which is what getWords() does.

3) List is an interface, ArrayList is a class that implements that interface. You cannot create List objects. You can create ArrayList objects.