What is the difference between Set and List?
In Java, a Set
is an interface that extends the Collection
interface. It is an unordered collection of objects, in which each object can occur only once. A Set
does not allow duplicate elements.
A List
is an interface that extends the Collection
interface. It is an ordered collection of elements, in which each element has a specific position in the list. A List
allows duplicate elements.
Here are some key differences between Set
and List
:
- Order:
Set
is an unordered collection, whileList
is an ordered collection. - Duplicates:
Set
does not allow duplicate elements, whileList
allows duplicate elements. - Indexing:
List
has a specific index for each element, whileSet
does not have a specific index for its elements.
There are several implementations of the Set
and List
interfaces in the Java Collections Framework, including HashSet
, TreeSet
, ArrayList, and LinkedList
. You can choose the implementation that is most appropriate for your use case based on your requirements for order, duplicates, and performance.