Vector in Java:

A vector in Java is like a dynamic array whose size can increase or decrease. In Java,
vectors do not have any size limit like arrays and they can store any number of
elements. It was introduced in Java 1.2, and has since become part of the Java
collection framework.

The Vector class is in the java.util package and implements the List interface. Therefore,
you can use all the methods of the List interface here.

Legacy Classes:

Some classes i.e. Vector, Stack, Hashtable etc. was introduced in JDK 1.0 version
these classes where modified or say re-engineered so that they can be adjusted in new
collection hierarchy, so these older classes are known as legacy classes.

What is Vector in Java?

A vector in Java is a class provided by the java.util package that represents a dynamic
array-like data structure. It is part of the old java collection framework and is similar to
ArrayList with a few differences. A vector can dynamically increase or decrease in size
when elements are added or removed.

Experts recommend using vectors in Java only in thread-safe implementations. If you

do not use a thread-safe implementation, you can use ArrayList, which performs better
in such scenarios.

How Does Java Vector Work?

Here is a Case that shows how vectors work in Java Collections?

Suppose we have to create a tree data structure and store the value of the node.
Because we do not already know the number of nodes, we need a suitable data
structure that meets our needs.

We can use Array, but it is initialized with a fixed size, so it cannot be changed in the
future. Also, if the array becomes full, it can cause issues, especially if we want to insert
more nodes into the tree.

Since we cannot extend Arrays, we need another dynamic data structure whose size
can be increased or decreased depending on our needs. This is where vectors come in
handy in Java.

Syntax

public class Vector extends AbstractList implements List, RandomAccess, Cloneable,

Serializable

Here, E is the type of element.

• It implements Cloneable, Serializable, Collection, Iterable, RandomAccess interfaces.

• It implements the List interface and extends AbstractList

• Directly known subclass is the stack.

• Known as subclass stack.

Properties of Vector Class:-
1. Vector is an index based data structure i.e start at 0th position.
2. Vector can store different data type or heterogeneous data type.
3. We can store duplicate elements.
4. We can store multiple null values.
5. Vector follows the insertion order (FIFO)
6. Vector does not follows the sorting order.
7. Vector are synchronized collection

Java Vector Methods

The following are the list of Vector class methods:

SN Method Description

1) add() It is used to append the specified element in the given vector.

2) addAll() It is used to append all of the elements in the specified collection

to the end of this Vector.

3) addElement() It is used to append the specified component to the end of this

vector. It increases the vector size by one.

4) capacity() It is used to get the current capacity of this vector.

5) clear() It is used to delete all of the elements from this vector.

6) clone() It returns a clone of this vector.

7) contains() It returns true if the vector contains the specified element.

8) containsAll() It returns true if the vector contains all of the elements in the
specified collection.
9) copyInto() It is used to copy the components of the vector into the specified
array.

10) elementAt() It is used to get the component at the specified index.

11) elements() It returns an enumeration of the components of a vector.

12) ensureCapacity() It is used to increase the capacity of the vector which is in use, if
necessary. It ensures that the vector can hold at least the number of
components specified by the minimum capacity argument.

13) equals() It is used to compare the specified object with the vector for
equality.

14) firstElement() It is used to get the first component of the vector.

15) forEach() It is used to perform the given action for each element of the
Iterable until all elements have been processed or the action throws
an exception.

16) get() It is used to get an element at the specified position in the vector.

17) hashCode() It is used to get the hash code value of a vector.

18) indexOf() It is used to get the index of the first occurrence of the specified
element in the vector. It returns -1 if the vector does not contain
the element.

19) insertElementAt() It is used to insert the specified object as a component in the given
vector at the specified index.

20) isEmpty() It is used to check if this vector has no components.

21) iterator() It is used to get an iterator over the elements in the list in proper
sequence.

22) lastElement() It is used to get the last component of the vector.

23) lastIndexOf() It is used to get the index of the last occurrence of the specified
element in the vector. It returns -1 if the vector does not contain
the element.

24) listIterator() It is used to get a list iterator over the elements in the list in proper
sequence.

25) remove() It is used to remove the specified element from the vector. If the
vector does not contain the element, it is unchanged.

26) removeAll() It is used to delete all the elements from the vector that are present
in the specified collection.

27) removeAllElements() It is used to remove all elements from the vector and set the size of
the vector to zero.

28) removeElement() It is used to remove the first (lowest-indexed) occurrence of the

argument from the vector.

29) removeElementAt() It is used to delete the component at the specified index.

30) removeIf() It is used to remove all of the elements of the collection that satisfy
the given predicate.

31) removeRange() It is used to delete all of the elements from the vector whose index
is between fromIndex, inclusive and toIndex, exclusive.

32) replaceAll() It is used to replace each element of the list with the result of
 applying the operator to that element.

33) retainAll() It is used to retain only that element in the vector which is
contained in the specified collection.

34) set() It is used to replace the element at the specified position in the
vector with the specified element.

35) setElementAt() It is used to set the component at the specified index of the vector
to the specified object.

36) setSize() It is used to set the size of the given vector.

37) size() It is used to get the number of components in the given vector.

38) sort() It is used to sort the list according to the order induced by the
specified Comparator.

39) spliterator() It is used to create a late-binding and fail-fast Spliterator over the
elements in the list.

40) subList() It is used to get a view of the portion of the list between fromIndex,
inclusive, and toIndex, exclusive.

41) toArray() It is used to get an array containing all of the elements in this
vector in correct order.

42) toString() It is used to get a string representation of the vector.

43) trimToSize() It is used to trim the capacity of the vector to the vector's current
size.
Difference between ArrayList and Vector
ArrayList Vector
ArrayList was introduced in JDK 1.2. Vector class was introduced in JDK 1.0
ArrayList is not a legacy class. Vector is a legacy class.
ArrayList is not synchronized. Vector is synchronized.
ArrayList is not thread-safe Vector is thread-safe
ArrayList is fast because it is non- Vector is slow because it is synchronized,
synchronized. i.e., in a multithreading environment, it
holds the other threads in runnable or non-
runnable state until current thread releases
the lock of the object.
ArrayList does not generable for data Vector provides generable for data
consistency consistency
In case of ArrayList new capacity In case of Vector new capacity
=[(old Capacity*3)/2]+1; =[old Capacity*2];
=[(10*3)/2]+1=16 =[10*2]=20
ArrayList does not provide any method to Vector class provide a method that is “int
find its capacity capacity” to find the capacity of vector.

// Program 1

import java.util.*;

public class VectorExample {

public static void main(String args[]) {

//Create a vector

Vector<String> vec = new Vector<String>();

//Adding elements using add() method of List

vec.add("Tiger");

vec.add("Lion");
 vec.add("Dog");

vec.add("Elephant");

//Adding elements using addElement() method of Vector

vec.addElement("Rat");

vec.addElement("Cat");

vec.addElement("Deer");

System.out.println("Elements are: "+vec);

Output:

Elements are: [Tiger, Lion, Dog, Elephant, Rat, Cat, Deer]

// Program 2

import java.util.*;

public class VectorExample1 {

public static void main(String args[]) {

//Create an empty vector with initial capacity 4

Vector<String> vec = new Vector<String>(4);

//Adding elements to a vector

vec.add("Tiger");

vec.add("Lion");

vec.add("Dog");

vec.add("Elephant");

//Check size and capacity

System.out.println("Size is: "+vec.size());

System.out.println("Default capacity is: "+vec.capacity());

//Display Vector elements

 System.out.println("Vector element is: "+vec);

vec.addElement("Rat");

vec.addElement("Cat");

vec.addElement("Deer");

//Again check size and capacity after two insertions

System.out.println("Size after addition: "+vec.size());

System.out.println("Capacity after addition is: "+vec.capacity());

//Display Vector elements again

System.out.println("Elements are: "+vec);

//Checking if Tiger is present or not in this vector

if(vec.contains("Tiger"))

System.out.println("Tiger is present at the index " +vec.indexOf("Tiger"));

else

System.out.println("Tiger is not present in the list.");

//Get the first element

System.out.println("The first animal of the vector is = "+vec.firstElement());

//Get the last element

System.out.println("The last animal of the vector is = "+vec.lastElement());

}
Output:

Size is: 4

Default capacity is: 4

Vector element is: [Tiger, Lion, Dog, Elephant]

Size after addition: 7

Capacity after addition is: 8

Elements are: [Tiger, Lion, Dog, Elephant, Rat, Cat, Deer]

Tiger is present at the index 0

The first animal of the vector is = Tiger

The last animal of the vector is = Deer