ArrayList function returns null in Android

Question

I am trying to return value from my remote server, add it to an ArrayList and display it on my drawer in Android studio but I am getting null . The first name and last name in volley contains that from my remote server, but the name ArrayList returns null

GetName.java

  public List<String> getDriverName(Context contenxt){
    String COMPLETE_URL = TRANSACTION_DETAIL_URL +  Preferences.getDefaults("email", contenxt);
    Log.i("url", COMPLETE_URL);

    name = new ArrayList<String>();

    StringRequest stringRequest = new StringRequest(Request.Method.GET, COMPLETE_URL, new Response.Listener<String>() {


        @Override
        public void onResponse(String response) {
            Log.i("info", response.toString());

            JSONObject jsonObject = null;
            try {
                jsonObject = new JSONObject(response);
                JSONArray jsonArray = jsonObject.getJSONArray("success");
                if (jsonArray.length() > 0){
                    for (int i=0; i <= jsonArray.length()-1; i++){
                        JSONObject productJson = jsonArray.getJSONObject(i);
                        first_name =productJson.getString("firstName");
                        last_name = productJson.getString("lastName");
                        name.add(first_name);
                        name.add(last_name);
                        Log.d(null, "onResponse: " + last_name);

                    }

                }else{
                    first_name = "";
                }
            } catch (JSONException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
    }, new Response.ErrorListener() {
        @Override
        public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
            first_name = "";            }
    });
    int socketTimeout = 10000;
    RetryPolicy retryPolicy = new DefaultRetryPolicy(socketTimeout, DefaultRetryPolicy.DEFAULT_MAX_RETRIES, DefaultRetryPolicy.DEFAULT_BACKOFF_MULT);
    RequestQueue requestQueue = Volley.newRequestQueue(contenxt);
    requestQueue.add(stringRequest);

    return name;
}

Dashboard Activity

NameAndEmail nameAndEmail = new NameAndEmail();
Log.d(null, "result: " + nameAndEmail.getDriverName(getApplicationContext()));

Result

D/: result: []

W/art: Before Android 4.1, method int     
android.support.v7.widget.DropDownListView.lookForSelectablePosition(int, 
boolean) would have incorrectly overridden the package-private method in 
android.widget.ListView
I/info: {"success":[{"firstName":"usfdh","lastName":"hseheh"}]}
D/: onResponse: hseheh

Answer 1

You are returning name variable before your data has not arrived.

You should process on name variable after data came and assigned to that variable.

You can do something like this:

NameAndEmail nameAndEmail = new NameAndEmail();

getDriverName(getApplicationContext()); // Remove return params from method.

Your getDriverName() method will be like:

public void getDriverName(Context contenxt){
    String COMPLETE_URL = TRANSACTION_DETAIL_URL +  Preferences.getDefaults("email", contenxt);
    Log.i("url", COMPLETE_URL);

    name = new ArrayList<String>();

    StringRequest stringRequest = new StringRequest(Request.Method.GET, COMPLETE_URL, new Response.Listener<String>() {


        @Override
        public void onResponse(String response) {
            Log.i("info", response.toString());

            JSONObject jsonObject = null;
            try {
                jsonObject = new JSONObject(response);
                JSONArray jsonArray = jsonObject.getJSONArray("success");
                if (jsonArray.length() > 0){
                    for (int i=0; i <= jsonArray.length()-1; i++){
                        JSONObject productJson = jsonArray.getJSONObject(i);
                        first_name =productJson.getString("firstName");
                        last_name = productJson.getString("lastName");
                        name.add(first_name);
                        name.add(last_name);
                        Log.d(null, "onResponse: " + last_name);

                        /******************************
                        ****** DO PROCESS HERE ********
                        ******************************/

                    }

                }else{
                    first_name = "";
                }
            } catch (JSONException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
    }, new Response.ErrorListener() {
        @Override
        public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
            first_name = "";            }
    });
    int socketTimeout = 10000;
    RetryPolicy retryPolicy = new DefaultRetryPolicy(socketTimeout, DefaultRetryPolicy.DEFAULT_MAX_RETRIES, DefaultRetryPolicy.DEFAULT_BACKOFF_MULT);
    RequestQueue requestQueue = Volley.newRequestQueue(contenxt);
    requestQueue.add(stringRequest);
}

Hope it will work. Thank you.