ArrayList retainAll(Collection c) method in java

Let’s learn ArrayList retainAll(Collection c) method in java.

ArrayList retainAll(Collection c) method in java

retainAll(Collection<?> c) method of ArrayList class retains only the elements in this list that are contained in the specified collection.

In other words, removes from this list all of its elements that are not contained in the specified collection.

Syntax:

public boolean retainAll(Collection<?> c)

Parameters:

c collection containing elements to be retained in this list.

Throws:

ClassCastException – if the class of an element of this list is in compatible with the specified collection(optional).

NullPointerException – if this list contains a null element and the specified collection does not permit null elements(optional), or if the specified collection is null.

Now let’s see an example on ArrayList retainAll(Collection<?> c) method.

import java.util.ArrayList;
public class ArrayListRetainAllMethod
{
   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
      ArrayList<String> al1 = new ArrayList<String>();
      al1.add("red");
      al1.add("blue");
      al1.add("green");
      // create another ArrayList
      ArrayList<String> al2 = new ArrayList<String>();
      al2.add("red");
      al2.add("green");
      al2.add("indigo");
      al2.add("yellow");
      // printing ArrayList before using retainAll() method
      System.out.println("ArrayList 1: " + al1);
      System.out.println("ArrayList 2: " + al2);
      // applying retainAll() method to al2 passing al1 as parameter
      al2.retainAll(al1);
      System.out.println("After Applying retainAll() method to al2: ");
      System.out.println("ArrayList 1: " + al1);
      System.out.println("ArrayList 2: " + al2);
   }
}

Output:

ArrayList 1: [red, blue, green]
ArrayList 2: [red, green, indigo, yellow]
After Applying retainAll() method to al2:
ArrayList 1: [red, blue, green]
ArrayList 2: [red, green]

Reference – docs oracle