Returning an empty array

user_846761 0
Viewed 195771

I'm trying to think of the best way to return an empty array, rather than null.

Is there any difference between foo() and bar()?

private static File[] foo() {
    return Collections.emptyList().toArray(new File[0]);
}

private static File[] bar() {
    return new File[0];
}
arrays java
8 Answers

You can return empty array by following two ways:

If you want to return array of int then

  1. Using {}:

    int arr[] = {};
return arr;

  2. Using new int[0]:

    int arr[] = new int[0];
return arr;

Same way you can return array for other datatypes as well.

user_95857960 
return new File[0];

This is better and efficient approach.

user_116822700

In a single line you could do:

private static File[] bar(){
    return new File[]{};
}
user_36142150
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