How to avoid java.util.ConcurrentModificationException when iterating through and removing elements from an ArrayList

Question

Two options:

• Create a list of values you wish to remove, adding to that list within the loop, then call originalList.removeAll(valuesToRemove) at the end
• Use the remove() method on the iterator itself. Note that this means you can't use the enhanced for loop.

As an example of the second option, removing any strings with a length greater than 5 from a list:

List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
...
for (Iterator<String> iterator = list.iterator(); iterator.hasNext(); ) {
    String value = iterator.next();
    if (value.length() > 5) {
        iterator.remove();
    }
}

From the JavaDocs of the ArrayList

The iterators returned by this class's iterator and listIterator methods are fail-fast: if the list 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.

You are trying to remove value from list in advanced "for loop", which is not possible, even if you apply any trick (which you did in your code). Better way is to code iterator level as other advised here.

I wonder how people have not suggested traditional for loop approach.

for( int i = 0; i < lStringList.size(); i++ )
{
    String lValue = lStringList.get( i );
    if(lValue.equals("_Not_Required"))
    {
         lStringList.remove(lValue);
         i--; 
    }  
}

This works as well.

In Java 8 you can use the Collection Interface and do this by calling the removeIf method:

yourList.removeIf((A a) -> a.value == 2);

More information can be found here

You should really just iterate back the array in the traditional way

Every time you remove an element from the list, the elements after will be push forward. As long as you don't change elements other than the iterating one, the following code should work.

public class Test(){
    private ArrayList<A> abc = new ArrayList<A>();

    public void doStuff(){
        for(int i = (abc.size() - 1); i >= 0; i--) 
            abc.get(i).doSomething();
    }

    public void removeA(A a){
        abc.remove(a);
    }
}

While iterating the list, if you want to remove the element is possible. Let see below my examples,

ArrayList<String>  names = new ArrayList<String>();
        names.add("abc");
        names.add("def");
        names.add("ghi");
        names.add("xyz");

I have the above names of Array list. And i want to remove the "def" name from the above list,

for(String name : names){
    if(name.equals("def")){
        names.remove("def");
    }
}

The above code throws the ConcurrentModificationException exception because you are modifying the list while iterating.

So, to remove the "def" name from Arraylist by doing this way,

Iterator<String> itr = names.iterator();            
while(itr.hasNext()){
    String name = itr.next();
    if(name.equals("def")){
        itr.remove();
    }
}

The above code, through iterator we can remove the "def" name from the Arraylist and try to print the array, you would be see the below output.

Output : [abc, ghi, xyz]

Do the loop in the normal way, the java.util.ConcurrentModificationException is an error related to the elements that are accessed.

So try:

for(int i = 0; i < list.size(); i++){
    lista.get(i).action();
}