378

I have an ArrayList with custom objects. Each custom object contains a variety of strings and numbers. I need the array to stick around even if the user leaves the activity and then wants to come back at a later time, however I don't need the array available after the application has been closed completely. I save a lot of other objects this way by using the SharedPreferences but I can't figure out how to save my entire array this way. Is this possible? Maybe SharedPreferences isn't the way to go about this? Is there a simpler method?

Improve this question
3

38 Answers 38

Reset to default
1
2
476

After API 11 the SharedPreferences Editor accepts Sets. You could convert your List into a HashSet or something similar and store it like that. When you read it back, convert it into an ArrayList, sort it if needed and you're good to go.

//Retrieve the values
Set<String> set = myScores.getStringSet("key", null);

//Set the values
Set<String> set = new HashSet<String>();
set.addAll(listOfExistingScores);
scoreEditor.putStringSet("key", set);
scoreEditor.commit();

You can also serialize your ArrayList and then save/read it to/from SharedPreferences. Below is the solution:

EDIT:
Ok, below is the solution to save ArrayList as a serialized object to SharedPreferences and then read it from SharedPreferences.

Because API supports only storing and retrieving of strings to/from SharedPreferences (after API 11, it's simpler), we have to serialize and de-serialize the ArrayList object which has the list of tasks into a string.

In the addTask() method of the TaskManagerApplication class, we have to get the instance of the shared preference and then store the serialized ArrayList using the putString() method:

public void addTask(Task t) {
  if (null == currentTasks) {
    currentTasks = new ArrayList<task>();
  }
  currentTasks.add(t);
 
  // save the task list to preference
  SharedPreferences prefs = getSharedPreferences(SHARED_PREFS_FILE, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
  Editor editor = prefs.edit();
  try {
    editor.putString(TASKS, ObjectSerializer.serialize(currentTasks));
  } catch (IOException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
  }
  editor.commit();
}

Similarly we have to retrieve the list of tasks from the preference in the onCreate() method:

public void onCreate() {
  super.onCreate();
  if (null == currentTasks) {
    currentTasks = new ArrayList<task>();
  }
 
  // load tasks from preference
  SharedPreferences prefs = getSharedPreferences(SHARED_PREFS_FILE, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
 
  try {
    currentTasks = (ArrayList<task>) ObjectSerializer.deserialize(prefs.getString(TASKS, ObjectSerializer.serialize(new ArrayList<task>())));
  } catch (IOException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
  } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
  }
}

You can get the ObjectSerializer class from the Apache Pig project ObjectSerializer.java

Improve this answer
Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

14 Comments

Keep in mind that putStringSet was added at API 11. Most current programmers target at lease API 8 (Froyo).
I like the idea of this method because it seems to be the cleanest, but the array I am looking to store is a custom class object that contains strings, doubles, and booleans. How do I go about adding all 3 of these types to a set? Do I have to set every individual object to their own array and then add them individually to separate sets before I store, or is there a simpler way?
What is scoreEditor?
To readers after Oct-2016: This comment already gets a lot of upvote and you may use it like me, but please halt and don't do this. HashSet will discard duplicate value, thus your ArrayList won't be same. Details here: stackoverflow.com/questions/12940663/…
As a reminder to those coming across this answer: a Set is unordered, so saving a StringSet will lose the order you had with your ArrayList.
|
134

Using this object --> TinyDB--Android-Shared-Preferences-Turbo its very simple.

TinyDB tinydb = new TinyDB(context);

to put

tinydb.putList("MyUsers", mUsersArray);

to get

tinydb.getList("MyUsers");

UPDATE

Some useful examples and troubleshooting might be found here: Android Shared Preference TinyDB putListObject frunction

Improve this answer

13 Comments

depending on the content of your List, you have to specify the object type of your list when calling tinydb.putList() Look at the examples at the linked page.
good lib, but i should mention that sometimes this library has issues when storing objects. to be more specific, it may throw stack overflow exception. and i think it is because it uses reflection to figure out how to store the object, and if the object gets too complicated it may throw that exception.
What should i set as context parameter on TinyDB tinydb = new TinyDB(context); ?
Currently, putList() became putListString()
@RAWNAKYAZDANI by default, TinyDB will return an empty list for a value that doesn't exist, so check the size of the list returned; if it is 0, then you can assign what ever default value you want to the returned list variable.
|
96

Saving Array in SharedPreferences:

public static boolean saveArray()
{
    SharedPreferences sp = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);
    SharedPreferences.Editor mEdit1 = sp.edit();
    /* sKey is an array */
    mEdit1.putInt("Status_size", sKey.size());  

    for(int i=0;i<sKey.size();i++)  
    {
        mEdit1.remove("Status_" + i);
        mEdit1.putString("Status_" + i, sKey.get(i));  
    }

    return mEdit1.commit();     
}

Loading Array Data from SharedPreferences

public static void loadArray(Context mContext)
{  
    SharedPreferences mSharedPreference1 =   PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(mContext);
    sKey.clear();
    int size = mSharedPreference1.getInt("Status_size", 0);  

    for(int i=0;i<size;i++) 
    {
     sKey.add(mSharedPreference1.getString("Status_" + i, null));
    }

}
Improve this answer

4 Comments

this is a very nice "hack". Be aware that with this method, there is always the posibility of bloating the SharedPreferences with unused old values. For example a list might have a size of 100 on a run, and then a size of 50. The 50 old entries will remain on the preferences. One way is setting a MAX value and clearing anything up to that.
@Iraklis Indeed, but assuming that you store only this ArrayList into SharedPrefeneces you could use mEdit1.clear() to avoid this.
I like this "hack". But mEdit1.clear() will erase other values not relevant to this purpose?
Thanks! If you mind me asking, is there a necessary purpose for .remove()? Won't the preference just overwrite anyway?
77

As @nirav said, best solution is store it in sharedPrefernces as a json text by using Gson utility class. Below sample code:

//Retrieve the values
Gson gson = new Gson();
String jsonText = Prefs.getString("key", null);
String[] text = gson.fromJson(jsonText, String[].class);  //EDIT: gso to gson


//Set the values
Gson gson = new Gson();
List<String> textList = new ArrayList<String>(data);
String jsonText = gson.toJson(textList);
prefsEditor.putString("key", jsonText);
prefsEditor.apply();
Improve this answer

3 Comments

This answer shoud be way up. Superb! Had no idea I can use Gson this way. First time to see the array notation used this way too. Thank you!
To convert it back to List, List<String> textList = Arrays.asList(gson.fromJson(jsonText, String[].class));
What is "data"?
70

You can convert it to JSON String and store the string in the SharedPreferences.

Improve this answer

5 Comments

I'm finding a ton of code on converting ArrayLists to JSONArrays, but do you have a sample you might be willing to share on how to convert over to JSONString so I can store it in the SharedPrefs?
using toString()
But then how do I get it back out of SharedPrefs and convert it back into an ArrayList?
I'm sorry, I don't have an Android SDK to test it now, but take a look here: benjii.me/2010/04/deserializing-json-in-android-using-gson . You should iterate over the json array and do what they do there for each object, hopefully I'll be able to post an edit to my answer with a full example tomorrow.
@MByD 12 years later...
70 
/**
 *     Save and get ArrayList in SharedPreference
 */

JAVA: 

public void saveArrayList(ArrayList<String> list, String key){
    SharedPreferences prefs = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(activity);
    SharedPreferences.Editor editor = prefs.edit();
    Gson gson = new Gson();
    String json = gson.toJson(list);
    editor.putString(key, json);
    editor.apply();    

}

public ArrayList<String> getArrayList(String key){
    SharedPreferences prefs = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(activity);
    Gson gson = new Gson();
    String json = prefs.getString(key, null);
    Type type = new TypeToken<ArrayList<String>>() {}.getType();
    return gson.fromJson(json, type);
}

Kotlin

fun saveArrayList(list: java.util.ArrayList<String?>?, key: String?) {
    val prefs: SharedPreferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(activity)
    val editor: Editor = prefs.edit()
    val gson = Gson()
    val json: String = gson.toJson(list)
    editor.putString(key, json)
    editor.apply()
}

fun getArrayList(key: String?): java.util.ArrayList<String?>? {
    val prefs: SharedPreferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(activity)
    val gson = Gson()
    val json: String = prefs.getString(key, null)
    val type: Type = object : TypeToken<java.util.ArrayList<String?>?>() {}.getType()
    return gson.fromJson(json, type)
}
Improve this answer

4 Comments

can you make this that means it will store all model class ?
Yes i tried it , perfect for storing data to sharedprefs! i voted up.
What is Type import?
show lots of option for importing the Type which is inside the getArrayList method
23

Hey friends I got the solution of above problem without using Gson library. Here I post source code.

1.Variable declaration i.e 

  SharedPreferences shared;
  ArrayList<String> arrPackage;

2.Variable initialization i.e 

 shared = getSharedPreferences("App_settings", MODE_PRIVATE);
 // add values for your ArrayList any where...
 arrPackage = new ArrayList<>();

3.Store value to sharedPreference using packagesharedPreferences():

 private void packagesharedPreferences() {
   SharedPreferences.Editor editor = shared.edit();
   Set<String> set = new HashSet<String>();
   set.addAll(arrPackage);
   editor.putStringSet("DATE_LIST", set);
   editor.apply();
   Log.d("storesharedPreferences",""+set);
 }

4.Retrive value of sharedPreference using retriveSharedValue():

 private void retriveSharedValue() {
   Set<String> set = shared.getStringSet("DATE_LIST", null);
   arrPackage.addAll(set);
   Log.d("retrivesharedPreferences",""+set);
 }

I hope it will helpful for you...

Improve this answer

3 Comments

This would remove all duplicate strings from the list as soon as you add to a set. Probably not a wanted feature
Is it only for a list of Strings?
You will lose order this way
15

Android SharedPreferances allow you to save primitive types (Boolean, Float, Int, Long, String and StringSet which available since API11) in memory as an xml file.

The key idea of any solution would be to convert the data to one of those primitive types.

I personally love to convert the my list to json format and then save it as a String in a SharedPreferences value.

In order to use my solution you'll have to add Google Gson lib.

In gradle just add the following dependency (please use google's latest version):

compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.6.2'

Save data (where HttpParam is your object):

List<HttpParam> httpParamList = "**get your list**"
String httpParamJSONList = new Gson().toJson(httpParamList);

SharedPreferences prefs = getSharedPreferences(**"your_prefes_key"**, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = prefs.edit();
editor.putString(**"your_prefes_key"**, httpParamJSONList);

editor.apply();

Retrieve Data (where HttpParam is your object):

SharedPreferences prefs = getSharedPreferences(**"your_prefes_key"**, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
String httpParamJSONList = prefs.getString(**"your_prefes_key"**, ""); 

List<HttpParam> httpParamList =  
new Gson().fromJson(httpParamJSONList, new TypeToken<List<HttpParam>>() {
            }.getType());
Improve this answer

Comments

12

This is your perfect solution.. try it,

public void saveArrayList(ArrayList<String> list, String key){
    SharedPreferences prefs = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(activity);
    SharedPreferences.Editor editor = prefs.edit();
    Gson gson = new Gson();
    String json = gson.toJson(list);
    editor.putString(key, json);
    editor.apply();     // This line is IMPORTANT !!!
}

public ArrayList<String> getArrayList(String key){
    SharedPreferences prefs = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(activity);
    Gson gson = new Gson();
    String json = prefs.getString(key, null);
    Type type = new TypeToken<ArrayList<String>>() {}.getType();
    return gson.fromJson(json, type);
}
Improve this answer

Comments

10

You can also convert the arraylist into a String and save that in preference

private String convertToString(ArrayList<String> list) {

            StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
            String delim = "";
            for (String s : list)
            {
                sb.append(delim);
                sb.append(s);;
                delim = ",";
            }
            return sb.toString();
        }

private ArrayList<String> convertToArray(String string) {

            ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<String>(Arrays.asList(string.split(",")));
            return list;
        }

You can save the Arraylist after converting it to string using convertToString method and retrieve the string and convert it to array using convertToArray

After API 11 you can save set directly to SharedPreferences though !!! :)

Improve this answer

1 Comment

A set is not a list. A list could contain duplicates and can be sorted. It doesn't make sense to set the delimiter in the loop. Should be a constant/define. Does it even work like this if the delimiter is contained in the string?
9

Also with Kotlin:

fun SharedPreferences.Editor.putIntegerArrayList(key: String, list: ArrayList<Int>?): SharedPreferences.Editor {
    putString(key, list?.joinToString(",") ?: "")
    return this
}

fun SharedPreferences.getIntegerArrayList(key: String, defValue: ArrayList<Int>?): ArrayList<Int>? {
    val value = getString(key, null)
    if (value.isNullOrBlank())
        return defValue
    return ArrayList (value.split(",").map { it.toInt() }) 
}
Improve this answer

Comments

9

For String, int, boolean, the best choice would be sharedPreferences.

If you want to store ArrayList or any complex data. The best choice would be Paper library.

Add dependency

implementation 'io.paperdb:paperdb:2.6'

Initialize Paper

Should be initialized once in Application.onCreate():

Paper.init(context);

Save

List<Person> contacts = ...
Paper.book().write("contacts", contacts);

Loading Data

Use default values if object doesn't exist in the storage.

List<Person> contacts = Paper.book().read("contacts", new ArrayList<>());

Here you go.

https://github.com/pilgr/Paper

Improve this answer

Comments

7

You can save String and custom array list using Gson library.

=>First you need to create function to save array list to SharedPreferences.

public void saveListInLocal(ArrayList<String> list, String key) {

        SharedPreferences prefs = getSharedPreferences("AppName", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
        SharedPreferences.Editor editor = prefs.edit();
        Gson gson = new Gson();
        String json = gson.toJson(list);
        editor.putString(key, json);
        editor.apply();     // This line is IMPORTANT !!!

    }

=> You need to create function to get array list from SharedPreferences.

public ArrayList<String> getListFromLocal(String key)
{
    SharedPreferences prefs = getSharedPreferences("AppName", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
    Gson gson = new Gson();
    String json = prefs.getString(key, null);
    Type type = new TypeToken<ArrayList<String>>() {}.getType();
    return gson.fromJson(json, type);

}

=> How to call save and retrieve array list function.

ArrayList<String> listSave=new ArrayList<>();
listSave.add("test1"));
listSave.add("test2"));
saveListInLocal(listSave,"key");
Log.e("saveArrayList:","Save ArrayList success");
ArrayList<String> listGet=new ArrayList<>();
listGet=getListFromLocal("key");
Log.e("getArrayList:","Get ArrayList size"+listGet.size());

=> Don't forgot to add gson library in you app level build.gradle.

implementation 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.8.2'

Improve this answer

Comments

6

best way is that convert to JSOn string using GSON and save this string to SharedPreference. I also use this way to cache responses.

Improve this answer

Comments

5

I have read all answers above. That is all correct but i found a more easy solution as below:

  1. Saving String List in shared-preference>>

    public static void setSharedPreferenceStringList(Context pContext, String pKey, List<String> pData) {
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = pContext.getSharedPreferences(Constants.APP_PREFS, Activity.MODE_PRIVATE).edit();
editor.putInt(pKey + "size", pData.size());
editor.commit();

for (int i = 0; i < pData.size(); i++) {
    SharedPreferences.Editor editor1 = pContext.getSharedPreferences(Constants.APP_PREFS, Activity.MODE_PRIVATE).edit();
    editor1.putString(pKey + i, (pData.get(i)));
    editor1.commit();
}

    }

  2. and for getting String List from Shared-preference>>

    public static List<String> getSharedPreferenceStringList(Context pContext, String pKey) {
int size = pContext.getSharedPreferences(Constants.APP_PREFS, Activity.MODE_PRIVATE).getInt(pKey + "size", 0);
List<String> list = new ArrayList<>();
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
    list.add(pContext.getSharedPreferences(Constants.APP_PREFS, Activity.MODE_PRIVATE).getString(pKey + i, ""));
}
return list;
}

Here Constants.APP_PREFS is the name of the file to open; can not contain path separators.

Improve this answer

Comments

4

Using Kotlin and GSON:

fun <T> SharedPreferences.writeList(gson: Gson, key: String, data: List<T>) {
    val json = gson.toJson(data)
    edit { putString(key, json) }
}

inline fun <reified T> SharedPreferences.readList(gson: Gson, key: String): List<T> {
    val json = getString(key, "[]") ?: "[]"
    val type = object : TypeToken<List<T>>() {}.type
    
    return try {
        gson.fromJson(json, type)
    } catch(e: JsonSyntaxException) {
        emptyList()
    }
}
Improve this answer

Comments

3

You could refer the serializeKey() and deserializeKey() functions from FacebookSDK's SharedPreferencesTokenCache class. It converts the supportedType into the JSON object and store the JSON string into SharedPreferences. You could download SDK from here

private void serializeKey(String key, Bundle bundle, SharedPreferences.Editor editor)
    throws JSONException {
    Object value = bundle.get(key);
    if (value == null) {
        // Cannot serialize null values.
        return;
    }

    String supportedType = null;
    JSONArray jsonArray = null;
    JSONObject json = new JSONObject();

    if (value instanceof Byte) {
        supportedType = TYPE_BYTE;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, ((Byte)value).intValue());
    } else if (value instanceof Short) {
        supportedType = TYPE_SHORT;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, ((Short)value).intValue());
    } else if (value instanceof Integer) {
        supportedType = TYPE_INTEGER;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, ((Integer)value).intValue());
    } else if (value instanceof Long) {
        supportedType = TYPE_LONG;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, ((Long)value).longValue());
    } else if (value instanceof Float) {
        supportedType = TYPE_FLOAT;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, ((Float)value).doubleValue());
    } else if (value instanceof Double) {
        supportedType = TYPE_DOUBLE;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, ((Double)value).doubleValue());
    } else if (value instanceof Boolean) {
        supportedType = TYPE_BOOLEAN;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, ((Boolean)value).booleanValue());
    } else if (value instanceof Character) {
        supportedType = TYPE_CHAR;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, value.toString());
    } else if (value instanceof String) {
        supportedType = TYPE_STRING;
        json.put(JSON_VALUE, (String)value);
    } else {
        // Optimistically create a JSONArray. If not an array type, we can null
        // it out later
        jsonArray = new JSONArray();
        if (value instanceof byte[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_BYTE_ARRAY;
            for (byte v : (byte[])value) {
                jsonArray.put((int)v);
            }
        } else if (value instanceof short[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_SHORT_ARRAY;
            for (short v : (short[])value) {
                jsonArray.put((int)v);
            }
        } else if (value instanceof int[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_INTEGER_ARRAY;
            for (int v : (int[])value) {
                jsonArray.put(v);
            }
        } else if (value instanceof long[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_LONG_ARRAY;
            for (long v : (long[])value) {
                jsonArray.put(v);
            }
        } else if (value instanceof float[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_FLOAT_ARRAY;
            for (float v : (float[])value) {
                jsonArray.put((double)v);
            }
        } else if (value instanceof double[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_DOUBLE_ARRAY;
            for (double v : (double[])value) {
                jsonArray.put(v);
            }
        } else if (value instanceof boolean[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_BOOLEAN_ARRAY;
            for (boolean v : (boolean[])value) {
                jsonArray.put(v);
            }
        } else if (value instanceof char[]) {
            supportedType = TYPE_CHAR_ARRAY;
            for (char v : (char[])value) {
                jsonArray.put(String.valueOf(v));
            }
        } else if (value instanceof List<?>) {
            supportedType = TYPE_STRING_LIST;
            @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
            List<String> stringList = (List<String>)value;
            for (String v : stringList) {
                jsonArray.put((v == null) ? JSONObject.NULL : v);
            }
        } else {
            // Unsupported type. Clear out the array as a precaution even though
            // it is redundant with the null supportedType.
            jsonArray = null;
        }
    }

    if (supportedType != null) {
        json.put(JSON_VALUE_TYPE, supportedType);
        if (jsonArray != null) {
            // If we have an array, it has already been converted to JSON. So use
            // that instead.
            json.putOpt(JSON_VALUE, jsonArray);
        }

        String jsonString = json.toString();
        editor.putString(key, jsonString);
    }
}

private void deserializeKey(String key, Bundle bundle)
        throws JSONException {
    String jsonString = cache.getString(key, "{}");
    JSONObject json = new JSONObject(jsonString);

    String valueType = json.getString(JSON_VALUE_TYPE);

    if (valueType.equals(TYPE_BOOLEAN)) {
        bundle.putBoolean(key, json.getBoolean(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_BOOLEAN_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        boolean[] array = new boolean[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            array[i] = jsonArray.getBoolean(i);
        }
        bundle.putBooleanArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_BYTE)) {
        bundle.putByte(key, (byte)json.getInt(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_BYTE_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        byte[] array = new byte[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            array[i] = (byte)jsonArray.getInt(i);
        }
        bundle.putByteArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_SHORT)) {
        bundle.putShort(key, (short)json.getInt(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_SHORT_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        short[] array = new short[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            array[i] = (short)jsonArray.getInt(i);
        }
        bundle.putShortArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_INTEGER)) {
        bundle.putInt(key, json.getInt(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_INTEGER_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        int[] array = new int[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            array[i] = jsonArray.getInt(i);
        }
        bundle.putIntArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_LONG)) {
        bundle.putLong(key, json.getLong(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_LONG_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        long[] array = new long[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            array[i] = jsonArray.getLong(i);
        }
        bundle.putLongArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_FLOAT)) {
        bundle.putFloat(key, (float)json.getDouble(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_FLOAT_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        float[] array = new float[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            array[i] = (float)jsonArray.getDouble(i);
        }
        bundle.putFloatArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_DOUBLE)) {
        bundle.putDouble(key, json.getDouble(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_DOUBLE_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        double[] array = new double[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            array[i] = jsonArray.getDouble(i);
        }
        bundle.putDoubleArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_CHAR)) {
        String charString = json.getString(JSON_VALUE);
        if (charString != null && charString.length() == 1) {
            bundle.putChar(key, charString.charAt(0));
        }
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_CHAR_ARRAY)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        char[] array = new char[jsonArray.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            String charString = jsonArray.getString(i);
            if (charString != null && charString.length() == 1) {
                array[i] = charString.charAt(0);
            }
        }
        bundle.putCharArray(key, array);
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_STRING)) {
        bundle.putString(key, json.getString(JSON_VALUE));
    } else if (valueType.equals(TYPE_STRING_LIST)) {
        JSONArray jsonArray = json.getJSONArray(JSON_VALUE);
        int numStrings = jsonArray.length();
        ArrayList<String> stringList = new ArrayList<String>(numStrings);
        for (int i = 0; i < numStrings; i++) {
            Object jsonStringValue = jsonArray.get(i);
            stringList.add(i, jsonStringValue == JSONObject.NULL ? null : (String)jsonStringValue);
        }
        bundle.putStringArrayList(key, stringList);
    }
}
Improve this answer

Comments

3

My utils class for save list to SharedPreferences

public class SharedPrefApi {
    private SharedPreferences sharedPreferences;
    private Gson gson;

    public SharedPrefApi(Context context, Gson gson) {
        this.sharedPreferences = context.getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
        this.gson = gson;
    } 

    ...

    public <T> void putList(String key, List<T> list) {
        SharedPreferences.Editor editor = sharedPreferences.edit();
        editor.putString(key, gson.toJson(list));
        editor.apply();
    }

    public <T> List<T> getList(String key, Class<T> clazz) {
        Type typeOfT = TypeToken.getParameterized(List.class, clazz).getType();
        return gson.fromJson(getString(key, null), typeOfT);
    }
}

Using

// for save
sharedPrefApi.putList(SharedPrefApi.Key.USER_LIST, userList);

// for retrieve
List<User> userList = sharedPrefApi.getList(SharedPrefApi.Key.USER_LIST, User.class);

.
Full code of my utils // check using example in Activity code

Improve this answer

Comments

2

Why don't you stick your arraylist on an Application class? It only get's destroyed when the app is really killed, so, it will stick around for as long as the app is available.

Improve this answer

1 Comment

What if the application is relaunched again.
2

The best way i have been able to find is a make a 2D Array of keys and put the custom items of the array in the 2-D array of keys and then retrieve it through the 2D arra on startup. I did not like the idea of using string set because most of the android users are still on Gingerbread and using string set requires honeycomb.

Sample Code: here ditor is the shared pref editor and rowitem is my custom object.

editor.putString(genrealfeedkey[j][1], Rowitemslist.get(j).getname());
        editor.putString(genrealfeedkey[j][2], Rowitemslist.get(j).getdescription());
        editor.putString(genrealfeedkey[j][3], Rowitemslist.get(j).getlink());
        editor.putString(genrealfeedkey[j][4], Rowitemslist.get(j).getid());
        editor.putString(genrealfeedkey[j][5], Rowitemslist.get(j).getmessage());
Improve this answer

Comments

2

following code is the accepted answer, with a few more lines for new folks (me), eg. shows how to convert the set type object back to arrayList, and additional guidance on what goes before '.putStringSet' and '.getStringSet'. (thank you evilone)

// shared preferences
   private SharedPreferences preferences;
   private SharedPreferences.Editor nsuserdefaults;

// setup persistent data
        preferences = this.getSharedPreferences("MyPreferences", MainActivity.MODE_PRIVATE);
        nsuserdefaults = preferences.edit();

        arrayOfMemberUrlsUserIsFollowing = new ArrayList<String>();
        //Retrieve followers from sharedPreferences
        Set<String> set = preferences.getStringSet("following", null);

        if (set == null) {
            // lazy instantiate array
            arrayOfMemberUrlsUserIsFollowing = new ArrayList<String>();
        } else {
            // there is data from previous run
            arrayOfMemberUrlsUserIsFollowing = new ArrayList<>(set);
        }

// convert arraylist to set, and save arrayOfMemberUrlsUserIsFollowing to nsuserdefaults
                Set<String> set = new HashSet<String>();
                set.addAll(arrayOfMemberUrlsUserIsFollowing);
                nsuserdefaults.putStringSet("following", set);
                nsuserdefaults.commit();
Improve this answer

Comments

2 
//Set the values
intent.putParcelableArrayListExtra("key",collection);

//Retrieve the values
ArrayList<OnlineMember> onlineMembers = data.getParcelableArrayListExtra("key");
Improve this answer

Comments

2

You can use serialization or Gson library to convert list to string and vice versa and then save string in preferences.

Using google's Gson library:

//Converting list to string
new Gson().toJson(list);

//Converting string to list
new Gson().fromJson(listString, CustomObjectsList.class);

Using Java serialization:

//Converting list to string
ByteArrayOutputStream bos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(bos);
oos.writeObject(list);
oos.flush();
String string = Base64.encodeToString(bos.toByteArray(), Base64.DEFAULT);
oos.close();
bos.close();
return string;

//Converting string to list
byte[] bytesArray = Base64.decode(familiarVisitsString, Base64.DEFAULT);
ByteArrayInputStream bis = new ByteArrayInputStream(bytesArray);
ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(bis);
Object clone = ois.readObject();
ois.close();
bis.close();
return (CustomObjectsList) clone;
Improve this answer

Comments

2

Use this custom class:

public class SharedPreferencesUtil {

    public static void pushStringList(SharedPreferences sharedPref, 
                                      List<String> list, String uniqueListName) {

        SharedPreferences.Editor editor = sharedPref.edit();
        editor.putInt(uniqueListName + "_size", list.size());

        for (int i = 0; i < list.size(); i++) {
            editor.remove(uniqueListName + i);
            editor.putString(uniqueListName + i, list.get(i));
        }
        editor.apply();
    }

    public static List<String> pullStringList(SharedPreferences sharedPref, 
                                              String uniqueListName) {

        List<String> result = new ArrayList<>();
        int size = sharedPref.getInt(uniqueListName + "_size", 0);

        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
            result.add(sharedPref.getString(uniqueListName + i, null));
        }
        return result;
    }
}

How to use:

SharedPreferences sharedPref = getPreferences(Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
SharedPreferencesUtil.pushStringList(sharedPref, list, getString(R.string.list_name));
List<String> list = SharedPreferencesUtil.pullStringList(sharedPref, getString(R.string.list_name));
Improve this answer

1 Comment

I tried several of the solutions posted, but this was the best by far. It does not require GSON, a special library, converting to something like a Map or SDK 29. I needed to store a custom class of three members and this was easy to modify to fit. This should be voted higher. Thanks, @Yuliia.
2

This method is used to store/save array list:- 

 public static void saveSharedPreferencesLogList(Context context, List<String> collageList) {
            SharedPreferences mPrefs = context.getSharedPreferences("PhotoCollage", context.MODE_PRIVATE);
            SharedPreferences.Editor prefsEditor = mPrefs.edit();
            Gson gson = new Gson();
            String json = gson.toJson(collageList);
            prefsEditor.putString("myJson", json);
            prefsEditor.commit();
        }

This method is used to retrieve array list:- 

public static List<String> loadSharedPreferencesLogList(Context context) {
        List<String> savedCollage = new ArrayList<String>();
        SharedPreferences mPrefs = context.getSharedPreferences("PhotoCollage", context.MODE_PRIVATE);
        Gson gson = new Gson();
        String json = mPrefs.getString("myJson", "");
        if (json.isEmpty()) {
            savedCollage = new ArrayList<String>();
        } else {
            Type type = new TypeToken<List<String>>() {
            }.getType();
            savedCollage = gson.fromJson(json, type);
        }

        return savedCollage;
    }
Improve this answer

Comments

2

I used the same manner of saving and retrieving a String but here with arrayList I've used HashSet as a mediator

To save arrayList to SharedPreferences we use HashSet:

1- we create SharedPreferences variable (in place where the change happens to the array)

2 - we convert the arrayList to HashSet

3 - then we put the stringSet and apply

4 - you getStringSet within HashSet and recreate ArrayList to set the HashSet.

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    ArrayList<String> arrayList = new ArrayList<>();

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        SharedPreferences prefs = this.getSharedPreferences("com.example.nec.myapplication", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);

        HashSet<String> set = new HashSet(arrayList);
        prefs.edit().putStringSet("names", set).apply();


        set = (HashSet<String>) prefs.getStringSet("names", null);
        arrayList = new ArrayList(set);

        Log.i("array list", arrayList.toString());
    }
}
Improve this answer

Comments

1

You can convert it to a Map Object to store it, then change the values back to an ArrayList when you retrieve the SharedPreferences.

Improve this answer

Comments

1

don't forget to implement Serializable:

Class dataBean implements Serializable{
 public String name;
}
ArrayList<dataBean> dataBeanArrayList = new ArrayList();

https://stackoverflow.com/a/7635154/4639974

Improve this answer

Comments

1

this should work:

public void setSections (Context c,  List<Section> sectionList){
    this.sectionList = sectionList;

    Type sectionListType = new TypeToken<ArrayList<Section>>(){}.getType();
    String sectionListString = new Gson().toJson(sectionList,sectionListType);

    SharedPreferences.Editor editor = getSharedPreferences(c).edit().putString(PREFS_KEY_SECTIONS, sectionListString);
    editor.apply();
}

them, to catch it just:

public List<Section> getSections(Context c){

    if(this.sectionList == null){
        String sSections = getSharedPreferences(c).getString(PREFS_KEY_SECTIONS, null);

        if(sSections == null){
            return new ArrayList<>();
        }

        Type sectionListType = new TypeToken<ArrayList<Section>>(){}.getType();
        try {

            this.sectionList = new Gson().fromJson(sSections, sectionListType);

            if(this.sectionList == null){
                return new ArrayList<>();
            }
        }catch (JsonSyntaxException ex){

            return new ArrayList<>();

        }catch (JsonParseException exc){

            return new ArrayList<>();
        }
    }
    return this.sectionList;
}

it works for me.

Improve this answer

Comments

1

In case someone needs to save a list of lists, i.e. List<List < String > >. I did this:

To serialize

Gson gson = new Gson();
// Save the size of the array
sharedPreferencesEditor.putInt("ArraySize", myArray.size());

for (int i=0; i<myArray.size(); i++) {
  String key = "Array"+i;
  String json = gson.toJson(myArray.get(i));
  sharedPreferencesEditor.putString(key, json);
}

sharedPreferencesEditor.commit();

To Deserialize

// Get the size of the array to be deserialized. In my case, the default number should be 3
int arraySize = sharedPreferences.getInt("ArraySize",3);

myArray = new ArrayList<List<String>>();

for (int i=0; i<arraySize; i++) {
  String key = "Array"+i;
  String json = sharedPreferences.getString(key, null);
  List<String> arrayTemp= gson.fromJson(json, List.class);
  myArray.add(arrayTemp);
}

// My array may also include components with empty strings. 
// Gson makes them null values and it is not possible 
// to deserialize them as empty strings. 
// The following takes care of that:

for (int i=0; i<myArray.size();i++) {
   if (myArray.get(i) == null) {
      List<String> emptyComponent = new ArrayList<String>() {
         { add(""); }
      };
      myArray.set(i,emptyComponent);
   }
}
Improve this answer

Comments

1
2

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.