How do I shuffle a deque?

Question

This is my code:

import java.util.ArrayDeque;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Deque;
import java.util.List;

public class ArrayDequeDemo {
   public static void main(String[] args) {

      // create an empty array deque with an initial capacity
      Deque<Integer> deque = new ArrayDeque<Integer>(8);

      // use add() method to add elements in the deque
      deque.add(15);
      deque.add(30);
      deque.add(20);
      deque.add(18);        

      // let us print all the elements available in deque
      for (Integer number : deque) {
         System.out.println("Number = " + number);
      }

      //Collections.shuffle((List<?>) deque);
      // getFirst() will retrieve element at first(head) position
      int retval = deque.getFirst();
      System.out.println("Retrieved Element is = " + retval);
   }
}

I know how to shuffle a List, but how do I use the Collections to shuffle a deque? Please reply with code as I am not totally used to Java terms/theory, I am still learning.

Answer 1

You cannot use java.util.Collections to shuffle a Deque; it only works on collections that implement List. You can write your own shuffle routine or you can first create a List, shuffle it, and then copy the results to a Deque:

public static void main(String[] args) {

  // create an empty array deque with an initial capacity
  List<Integer> list = new ArrayList<Integer>(8);

  // use add() method to add elements in the deque
  list.add(15);
  list.add(30);
  list.add(20);
  list.add(18);        

  // let us print all the elements available in deque
  for (Integer number : list) {
     System.out.println("Number = " + number);
  }

  Collections.shuffle(list);
  Deque<Integer> deque = new ArrayDeque<Integer>(list);
  // getFirst() will retrieve element at first(head) position
  int retval = deque.getFirst();
  System.out.println("Retrieved Element is = " + retval);
}

The problem with writing your own shuffle routine, of course, is that the Deque interface does not provide a means of moving elements around.

Answer 2

Collections.shuffle(List) accepts only List so in order to shuffle Deque you need to use LinkedList implementation of Deque. LinkedList implements both Deque and List interfaces. See http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/collections/implementations/deque.html

public static void main(String[] args) {

    LinkedList<Integer> list = new LinkedList<Integer>();

    // use add() method to add elements in the deque
    list.add(15);
    list.add(30);
    list.add(20);
    list.add(18);

    // let us print all the elements available in deque
    for (Integer number : list) {
        System.out.println("Number = " + number);
    }

    Collections.shuffle(list);
    int retval = list.getFirst();
    System.out.println("Retrieved Element is = " + retval);
}