java - How to get a list of specific fields values from objects stored in a list?

Question

Say I have an list of objects with two fields field1 and field2, both of String type.

How do I get a list of all field1 values without having to iterate over the list, if it is at all possible?

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10997139/how-to-get-a-list-of-specific-fields-values-from-objects-stored-in-a-list

Answer 1

An object is a reference towards a memory address. Then, the fields of this objects are other references towards other memory addresses. Hence, a list of objects is a list of references. So, it's impossible for the list to direclty access the object fields (references given by the references). The short answer is no.

Note: anyway you'll find an API that does what you want, it still loops in the inside.