How can I create a character array in Java without a specified length?

Question

    char ret[] = {};

Doesn't work seem to work and I'm not sure what the best way to do this is.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Arrays must have a fixed length.

If your goal is to have a dynamically expansible list, consider a List instead. Everytime you add an item by add() method, it will grow dynamically whenever needed.

List<Character> chars = new ArrayList<Character>();
// ...

See also:

• Java Tutorials - Trail: Collections - The List Interface

Answer 2

You're probably looking for an ArrayList<Character>.