Get original ArrayList from ArrayAdapter

Question

How can I retrieve the underlying ArrayList from an ArrayAdapter in Android?

Is this possible or do I need to keep track of them seperately?

ArrayAdapter<String> adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(this, android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, new ArrayList<String>());
ArrayList<String> underlying = 

Answer 1

You can do this to get the underlying ArrayList

ArrayList<String> underlying =  = new ArrayList<String>();
for (int i = 0; i < adapter .getCount(); i++)
    underlying .add(adapter .getItem(i));

Answer 2

I think that if you don't have this feature, you can easily create an adapter that fits your needs by extending the BaseAdapter instead .

just send the list to the adapter via its CTOR, and you can change it later from outside of the adapter and call notifyDataSetChanged when you are done.

word of caution though: if you have the original instance of the list of the adapter, you should handle multi-threading issues (or access it only via the UI thread), and if you modify it (especially add/remove items) you should always call notifyDataSetChanged .