convert ArrayList<MyCustomClass> to JSONArray

Question

If I read the JSONArray constructors correctly, you can build them from any Collection (arrayList is a subclass of Collection) like so:

ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
list.add("foo");
list.add("baar");
JSONArray jsArray = new JSONArray(list);

References:

• jsonarray constructor: http://developer.android.com/reference/org/json/JSONArray.html#JSONArray%28java.util.Collection%29
• collection: http://developer.android.com/reference/java/util/Collection.html

Use Gson library to convert ArrayList to JsonArray.

Gson gson = new GsonBuilder().create();
JsonArray myCustomArray = gson.toJsonTree(myCustomList).getAsJsonArray();

As somebody figures out that the OP wants to convert custom List to org.json.JSONArray not the com.google.gson.JsonArray,the CORRECT answer should be like this:

Gson gson = new Gson();

String listString = gson.toJson(
                    targetList,
           new TypeToken<ArrayList<targetListItem>>() {}.getType());

 JSONArray jsonArray =  new JSONArray(listString);

public void itemListToJsonConvert(ArrayList<HashMap<String, String>> list) {

        JSONObject jResult = new JSONObject();// main object
        JSONArray jArray = new JSONArray();// /ItemDetail jsonArray

        for (int i = 0; i < list.size(); i++) {
            JSONObject jGroup = new JSONObject();// /sub Object

            try {
                jGroup.put("ItemMasterID", list.get(i).get("ItemMasterID"));
                jGroup.put("ID", list.get(i).get("id"));
                jGroup.put("Name", list.get(i).get("name"));
                jGroup.put("Category", list.get(i).get("category"));

                jArray.put(jGroup);

                // /itemDetail Name is JsonArray Name
                jResult.put("itemDetail", jArray);
                return jResult;
            } catch (JSONException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
        }

    }

With kotlin and Gson we can do it more easily:

1. First, add Gson dependency:

implementation "com.squareup.retrofit2:converter-gson:2.3.0"

2. Create a separate kotlin file, add the following methods

import com.google.gson.Gson
import com.google.gson.reflect.TypeToken

fun <T> Gson.convertToJsonString(t: T): String {
    return toJson(t).toString()
}

fun <T> Gson.convertToModel(jsonString: String, cls: Class<T>): T? {
    return try {
        fromJson(jsonString, cls)
    } catch (e: Exception) {
        null
    }
}

inline fun <reified T> Gson.fromJson(json: String) = this.fromJson<T>(json, object: TypeToken<T>() {}.type)

Note: Do not add declare class, just add these methods, everything will work fine.

3. Now to call:

create a reference of gson:

val gson=Gson()

To convert array to json string, call:

val jsonString=gson.convertToJsonString(arrayList)

To get array from json string, call:

val arrayList=gson.fromJson<ArrayList<YourModelClassName>>(jsonString)

To convert a model to json string, call:

val jsonString=gson.convertToJsonString(model)

To convert json string to model, call:

val model=gson.convertToModel(jsonString, YourModelClassName::class.java)

Add to your gradle:

implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:converter-gson:2.3.0'

Convert ArrayList to JsonArray

JsonArray jsonElements = (JsonArray) new Gson().toJsonTree(itemsArrayList);