Java: How to return the only element in an ArrayList

Question

I am working on a Robot Maze where the robot finds the target without crashing into walls. I have commented my code thoroughly so hopefully it'll be understandable.

At the dead end and corridor, there will be only one passage in the passageDirections ArrayList. How do I return this one and only direction?

Any help is appreciated :)

PS: I am a beginner programmer, still learning so explain your answer as if you were to explain it to a three year old :)

Answer 1

You can use passageDirections.get(0), which will return the first element in the list. Since (I hope that) you guarantee there is a single element in the list, that solves your issue.

https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/ArrayList.html#get(int)

Answer 2

You should check the size before calling to prevent IndexOutOfBoundsException

if (passageDirections.size() > 0)
  passageDirections.get(0)