We’ll show you how to write a Comparator to sort a List using Java 8 Lambda expressions in this example.
Classic Comparator example
Comparator<Developer> byName = new Comparator<Developer>() {
@Override
public int compare(Developer o1, Developer o2) {
return o1.getName().compareTo(o2.getName());
}
};
Lambda expression equivalent.
Comparator<Developer> byName =
(Developer o1, Developer o2)->o1.getName().compareTo(o2.getName());
Sort without Lambda
A comparison of Developer objects based on their age is an example. Normally, you use Collections.sort and pass an anonymous Comparator class like this :
//TestSorting.java
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
public class TestSorting {
public static void main(String[] args) {
List<Developer> listDevs = getDevelopers();
System.out.println("Before Sort");
for (Developer developer : listDevs) {
System.out.println(developer);
}
//sort by age
Collections.sort(listDevs, new Comparator<Developer>() {
@Override
public int compare(Developer o1, Developer o2) {
return o1.getAge() - o2.getAge();
}
});
System.out.println("After Sort");
for (Developer developer : listDevs) {
System.out.println(developer);
}
}
private static List<Developer> getDevelopers() {
List<Developer> result = new ArrayList<Developer>();
result.add(new Developer("mkyong", new BigDecimal("70000"), 33));
result.add(new Developer("alvin", new BigDecimal("80000"), 20));
result.add(new Developer("jason", new BigDecimal("100000"), 10));
result.add(new Developer("iris", new BigDecimal("170000"), 55));
return result;
}
}
Output
Before Sort
Developer [name=mkyong, salary=70000, age=33]
Developer [name=alvin, salary=80000, age=20]
Developer [name=jason, salary=100000, age=10]
Developer [name=iris, salary=170000, age=55]
After Sort
Developer [name=jason, salary=100000, age=10]
Developer [name=alvin, salary=80000, age=20]
Developer [name=mkyong, salary=70000, age=33]
Developer [name=iris, salary=170000, age=55]
You simply pass in a new anonymous Comparator class when the sorting criteria changes:
//sort by age
Collections.sort(listDevs, new Comparator<Developer>() {
@Override
public int compare(Developer o1, Developer o2) {
return o1.getAge() - o2.getAge();
}
});
//sort by name
Collections.sort(listDevs, new Comparator<Developer>() {
@Override
public int compare(Developer o1, Developer o2) {
return o1.getName().compareTo(o2.getName());
}
});
//sort by salary
Collections.sort(listDevs, new Comparator<Developer>() {
@Override
public int compare(Developer o1, Developer o2) {
return o1.getSalary().compareTo(o2.getSalary());
}
});
It works, but don’t you think it’s a little odd to build a class just to modify one line of code ?
Sort with Lambda
In Java 8, the List interface is supports the sort method directly, no need to use Collections.sort anymore.
//List.sort() since Java 8
listDevs.sort(new Comparator<Developer>() {
@Override
public int compare(Developer o1, Developer o2) {
return o2.getAge() - o1.getAge();
}
});
Lambda expression example :
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class TestSorting {
public static void main(String[] args) {
List<Developer> listDevs = getDevelopers();
System.out.println("Before Sort");
for (Developer developer : listDevs) {
System.out.println(developer);
}
System.out.println("After Sort");
//lambda here!
listDevs.sort((Developer o1, Developer o2)->o1.getAge()-o2.getAge());
//java 8 only, lambda also, to print the List
listDevs.forEach((developer)->System.out.println(developer));
}
private static List<Developer> getDevelopers() {
List<Developer> result = new ArrayList<Developer>();
result.add(new Developer("mkyong", new BigDecimal("70000"), 33));
result.add(new Developer("alvin", new BigDecimal("80000"), 20));
result.add(new Developer("jason", new BigDecimal("100000"), 10));
result.add(new Developer("iris", new BigDecimal("170000"), 55));
return result;
}
}
Output
Before Sort
Developer [name=mkyong, salary=70000, age=33]
Developer [name=alvin, salary=80000, age=20]
Developer [name=jason, salary=100000, age=10]
Developer [name=iris, salary=170000, age=55]
After Sort
Developer [name=jason, salary=100000, age=10]
Developer [name=alvin, salary=80000, age=20]
Developer [name=mkyong, salary=70000, age=33]
Developer [name=iris, salary=170000, age=55]
References :