Java: Vector or ArrayList -- Which is better and Why?

This is a topic on which I did a lot of study and research on internet as it was a favorite question to be asked from Java Collections. It may be a long read but then at the end of it, It's worth it.


Sometimes Vector is better; sometimes ArrayList is better; sometimes you don't want to use either. I hope you weren't looking for an easy answer because the answer depends upon what you are doing. There are four factors to consider:

• API
• Synchronization
• Data growth
• Usage patterns

Let's explore each in turn.

API

In The Java Programming Language (Addison-Wesley, June 2000) Ken Arnold, James Gosling, and David Holmes describe the Vector as an analog to the ArrayList. So, from an API perspective, the two classes are very similar. However, there are still some major differences between the two classes.

Synchronization

Vectors are synchronized. Any method that touches the Vector's contents is thread safe. ArrayList, on the other hand, is unsynchronized, making them, therefore, not thread safe. With that difference in mind, using synchronization will incur a performance hit. So if you don't need a thread-safe collection, use the ArrayList. Why pay the price of synchronization unnecessarily?

Data growth

Internally, both the ArrayList and Vector hold onto their contents using an Array. You need to keep this fact in mind while using either in your programs. When you insert an element into an ArrayList or a Vector, the object will need to expand its internal array if it runs out of room. A Vector defaults to doubling the size of its array, while the ArrayList increases its array size by 50 percent. Depending on how you use these classes, you could end up taking a large performance hit while adding new elements. It's always best to set the object's initial capacity to the largest capacity that your program will need. By carefully setting the capacity, you can avoid paying the penalty needed to resize the internal array later. If you don't know how much data you'll have, but you do know the rate at which it grows, Vector does possess a slight advantage since you can set the increment value.

Usage patterns

Both the ArrayList and Vector are good for retrieving elements from a specific position in the container or for adding and removing elements from the end of the container. All of these operations can be performed in constant time -- O(1). However, adding and removing elements from any other position proves more expensive -- linear to be exact: O(n-i), where n is the number of elements and i is the index of the element added or removed. These operations are more expensive because you have to shift all elements at index i and higher over by one element. So what does this all mean?

It means that if you want to index elements or add and remove elements at the end of the array, use either a Vector or an ArrayList. If you want to do anything else to the contents, go find yourself another container class. For example, the LinkedList can add or remove an element at any position in constant time -- O(1). However, indexing an element is a bit slower -- O(i) where i is the index of the element. Traversing an ArrayList is also easier since you can simply use an index instead of having to create an iterator. The LinkedList also creates an internal object for each element inserted. So you have to be aware of the extra garbage being created.

Vectors in Detail:

Vector implements a dynamic array. It is similar to ArrayList, but with two differences:  Vector is synchronized, and it contains many legacy methods that are not part of the collections framework. With the release of Java 2, Vector was reengineered to extend AbstractList and implement the List interface, so it now is fully compatible with collections.

Here are the Vector constructors:

Vector( )
Vector(int size)
Vector(int size, int incr)
Vector(Collection c)

The first form creates a default vector, which has an initial size of 10. The second form creates a vector whose initial capacity is specified by size. The third form creates a vector whose initial capacity is specified by size and whose increment is specified by incr. The increment specifies the number of elements to allocate each time that a vector is resized upward. The fourth form creates a vector that contains the elements of collection c. This constructor was added by Java 2.

All vectors start with an initial capacity. After this initial capacity is reached, the next time that you attempt to store an object in the vector, the vector automatically allocates space for that object plus extra room for additional objects. By allocating more than just the required memory, the vector reduces the number of allocations that must take place. This reduction is important, because allocations are costly in terms of time. The amount of extra space allocated during each reallocation is determined by the increment that you specify when you create the vector. If you don't specify an increment, the vector's size is doubled by each allocation cycle.

Vector defines these protected data members:

int capacityIncrement;
int elementCount;
Object elementData[ ];

The increment value is stored in capacityIncrement. The number of elements currently in the vector is stored in elementCount. The array that holds the vector is stored in elementData.

Because Vector implements List, you can use a vector just like you use an ArrayList instance. You can also manipulate one using its legacy methods. For example, after you instantiate a Vector, you can add an element to it by calling addElement( ). To obtain the element at a specific location, call elementAt( ). To obtain the first element in the vector, call firstElement( ). To retrieve the last element, call lastElement( ). You can obtain the index of an element by using indexOf( ) and lastIndexOf( ). To remove an element, call removeElement( ) or removeElementAt( ).

The following program uses a vector to store various types of numeric objects. It demonstrates several of the legacy methods defined by Vector. It also demonstrates the Enumeration interface.

//Demonstrate various Vector operations.
import java.util.*;
class VectorDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// initial size is 3, increment is 2
Vector v = new Vector(3, 2);
System.out.println("Initial size: " + v.size());
System.out.println("Initial capacity: " +
v.capacity());
v.addElement(new Integer(1));
v.addElement(new Integer(2));
v.addElement(new Integer(3));
v.addElement(new Integer(4));
System.out.println("Capacity after four additions: " +
v.capacity());
v.addElement(new Double(5.45));
System.out.println("Current capacity: " +
v.capacity());
v.addElement(new Double(6.08));
v.addElement(new Integer(7));
System.out.println("Current capacity: " +
v.capacity());
v.addElement(new Float(9.4));
v.addElement(new Integer(10));
System.out.println("Current capacity: " +
v.capacity());
v.addElement(new Integer(11));
v.addElement(new Integer(12));
System.out.println("First element: " +
(Integer)v.firstElement());
System.out.println("Last element: " +
(Integer)v.lastElement());
if(v.contains(new Integer(3)))
System.out.println("Vector contains 3.");
// enumerate the elements in the vector.
Enumeration vEnum = v.elements();
System.out.println("\\nElements in vector:");
while(vEnum.hasMoreElements())
System.out.print(vEnum.nextElement() + " ");
System.out.println();
}
}

The output from this program is shown here:

Initial size: 0
Initial capacity: 3
Capacity after four additions: 5
Current capacity: 5
Current capacity: 7
Current capacity: 9
First element: 1
Last element: 12
Vector contains 3.
Elements in vector:
1 2 3 4 5.45 6.08 7 9.4 10 11 12

With the release of Java 2, Vector adds support for iterators. Instead of relying on an enumeration to cycle through the objects (as the preceding program does), you now can use an iterator. For example, the following iterator-based code can be substituted into the program:

// use an iterator to display contents
Iterator vItr = v.iterator();
System.out.println("\\nElements in vector:");
while(vItr.hasNext())
System.out.print(vItr.next() + " ");
System.out.println();

Because enumerations are not recommended for new code, you will usually use an iterator to enumerate the contents of a vector. Of course, much legacy code exists that employs enumerations. Fortunately, enumerations and iterators work in nearly the same manner.

The Iterators returned by Vector's iterator and listIterator methods are fail-fast: if the Vector is structurally modified at any time after the Iterator is created, in any way except through the Iterator's own remove or add methods, the Iterator will throw a ConcurrentModificationException. Thus, in the face of concurrent modification, the Iterator fails quickly and cleanly, rather than risking arbitrary, non-deterministic behavior at an undetermined time in the future. The Enumerations returned by Vector's elements method are not fail-fast.

Source: Books & Internet.