My program does not print out the correct string

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I can't figure out why my code isn't printing out the correct string. It seems like it is just returning whatever string is 9 characters long??

1. Create a list of strings.
2. Add 10 strings from the keyboard.
3. Find out which string occurs earlier in the list: the shortest or the longest.
If several strings are shortest or longest, then consider the very first such string encountered.
4. Display the string described in Step 3. One string should be displayed.

Requirements:

Declare a string list variable and immediately initialize it.
The program should read 10 strings from the keyboard and add them to the list.
The program should display the shortest string if it comes before the longest.
The program should display the longest string if it comes before the shortest.

package com.codegym.task.task07.task0712; import java.io.BufferedReader; import java.io.IOException; import java.io.InputStreamReader; import java.util.ArrayList; /* Shortest or longest */ public class Solution { public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception { ArrayList<String> strings = new ArrayList<String>(); BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in)); for(int i=0; i<10; i++){ String s = reader.readLine(); strings.add(s); } int longest = Integer.MIN_VALUE; int longestIndex = 0; for(int i=0; i<strings.size(); i++){ String a = strings.get(i); int s = a.length(); if(s >= longest){ longestIndex = i; } } int shortest = Integer.MAX_VALUE; int shortestIndex = 0; for(int i=0; i<strings.size(); i++){ String a = strings.get(i); int s = a.length(); if(s <= shortest){ shortestIndex = i; } } for(int i=0; i<strings.size(); i++){ String z = strings.get(i); if(z.length() == shortestIndex || z.length() == longestIndex){ System.out.println(z); } } } }

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ulmas9025

Level 20 , Tashkent, Uzbekistan

15 May 2019, 03:16

ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<>(); BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in)); int min = 0; int max = 0; for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++){ list.add(reader.readLine()); if ( i > 0){ max = list.get(i).length() > list.get(max).length() ? i : max; min = list.get(i).length() < list.get(min).length() ? i : min; } } String s = min < max ? list.get(min) : list.get(max); System.out.println(s);

Guadalupe Gagnon

Level 37 , Tampa, United States

15 May 2019, 13:10

Do you have a question? Posting your solve doesn't provide any useful help.

Guadalupe Gagnon

Level 37 , Tampa, United States

14 May 2019, 14:17

solution

#1 lines 27 and 36. You don't want to check if the string lengths are equal. This will cause the index to move up when you have strings of the same length and you will effectively be ignoring the first such index. #2 When you find a string that is greater than or less than the length stored in 'longest' and 'shortest' You want to change longest and shortest to that string length. You do not do that right now and every single loop cycle lines 27 and 36 return true. (at line 27 s will always be greater than or equal to Integer.MIN_VALUE, same concept for line 36) #3 When you fix the above you do not need a third loop. Plus your 3rd loop (at line 42) is testing word length against index, this is definitely a mistake. Just use an if statement, or ternary like below, and print the index that has the lower value: sout(shortIndex > longIndex ? string.get(longIndex) : strings.get(shortIndex)) A little style tip: In your 1st and second loop you do not need to get the string then get the string length in 2 steps. Combine those lines into 1:

for(int i=0; i<strings.size(); i++){
   //String a = strings.get(i);
   int s = a.get(i).length();

Mikayla Pace Frontend Developer at Malouf Home

15 May 2019, 07:57

Thanks! I corrected my for loops to this and got rid of the third one that was checking length against index & it's working properly now.

int longest = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
       int longestIndex = -1;
       for(int i=0; i<strings.size(); i++){
           int s = strings.get(i).length();
           if(s > longest){
               longestIndex = i;
               longest = s;