How to convert an Array to a Set in Java

Question

Like this:

Set<T> mySet = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(someArray));

In Java 9+, if unmodifiable set is ok:

Set<T> mySet = Set.of(someArray);

In Java 10+, the generic type parameter can be inferred from the arrays component type:

var mySet = Set.of(someArray);

Be careful

Set.of throws IllegalArgumentException - if there are any duplicate elements in someArray. See more details: https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/util/Set.html#of(E...)

Set<T> mySet = new HashSet<T>();
Collections.addAll(mySet, myArray);

That's Collections.addAll(java.util.Collection, T...) from JDK 6.

Additionally: what if our array is full of primitives?

For JDK < 8, I would just write the obvious for loop to do the wrap and add-to-set in one pass.

For JDK >= 8, an attractive option is something like:

Arrays.stream(intArray).boxed().collect(Collectors.toSet());

With Guava you can do:

T[] array = ...
Set<T> set = Sets.newHashSet(array);

Java 8:

String[] strArray = {"eins", "zwei", "drei", "vier"};

Set<String> strSet = Arrays.stream(strArray).collect(Collectors.toSet());
System.out.println(strSet);
// [eins, vier, zwei, drei]

Varargs will work too!

Stream.of(T... values).collect(Collectors.toSet());

Java 8

We have the option of using Stream as well. We can get stream in various ways:

Set<String> set = Stream.of("A", "B", "C", "D").collect(Collectors.toCollection(HashSet::new));
System.out.println(set);

String[] stringArray = {"A", "B", "C", "D"};
Set<String> strSet1 = Arrays.stream(stringArray).collect(Collectors.toSet());
System.out.println(strSet1);

// if you need HashSet then use below option.
Set<String> strSet2 = Arrays.stream(stringArray).collect(Collectors.toCollection(HashSet::new));
System.out.println(strSet2);

The source code of Collectors.toSet() shows that elements are added one by one to a HashSet but specification does not guarantee it will be a HashSet.

"There are no guarantees on the type, mutability, serializability, or thread-safety of the Set returned."

So it is better to use the later option. The output is: [A, B, C, D] [A, B, C, D] [A, B, C, D]

Immutable Set (Java 9)

Java 9 introduced Set.of static factory method which returns immutable set for the provided elements or the array.

@SafeVarargs
static <E> Set<E> of​(E... elements)

Check Immutable Set Static Factory Methods for details.

Immutable Set (Java 10)

We can also get an immutable set in two ways:

1. Set.copyOf(Arrays.asList(array))
2. Arrays.stream(array).collect(Collectors.toUnmodifiableList());

The method Collectors.toUnmodifiableList() internally makes use of Set.of introduced in Java 9. Also check this answer of mine for more.