ArrayList to Array in java 1.4.2

Question

Stuck using an old java version, so I am not able to cast my array list to a string, and was wondering how I can successfully convert my arrayList to an array. here is my code:

    String racesArray[] = request.getParameterValues("races");
    ArrayList races = new ArrayList();

    for (int i = 0; i < racesArray.length; ++i) {
        String s = racesArray[i];
        if (s != null && s.length() > 0) {
            races.add(s);
        }
    }
    final String[] racesArray1 = (String[])races.toArray(new Object[races.size()]);

The above codes gives me a classCastException

EDIT: Changed to avoid confusion on variables

Answer 1

Try this:

String[] racesArray = { "raceWhite", "raceBlack", "raceInd", "raceAsian", "raceHaw", "raceInter", "raceUnknown" };
List races = Arrays.asList(racesArray);
String[] racesArray1 = (String[]) races.toArray(new String[races.size()]);

Take attention on the last line: new String not new Object -- this was the main reason of your problem.

Good luck with Java 1.4.2 :) and I recommend the book of Joshua Bloch "Effective Java" 1st edition. It is for Java 1.4 and touches the most important aspects of everyday programming.