how do I compare members of an array list against a string?

Question

I am so sorry for this simple question (I have only been working with java for a little bit).

I have an Array List of check boxes and they have a corresponding label with it from another Array List.

i want to be able to set a string variable to a certain value depending on what the label of the selected check box is. I need to compare up to four selected check boxes. So if check box A, with label A = X, then the serial number of that device = Y.

I have tried to use the contains() method, but it returns null. I have tried to use get(index).getText(), but that only works for a single index (when I have up to four that I need to evaluate).

Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!!

ironmantis7x

===================================================================

Here is a part of my code with the suggestion below:

        if (PlatformPanel.Android.isSelected() == true)
        {
            Iterator<JCheckBox> listIter = Devices.selectedDevices.iterator();
            while(listIter.hasNext())
            {
                JCheckBox nextItemInList = listIter.next();
                if (nextItemInList.toString().equals("HTC Droid Eris"))         
                //if (Devices.selectedDevices.iterator().toString() .equals("HTC Droid Eris"))
                 {
                    selectedSerial = "A100000DA78159";
                    System.out.println(selectedSerial);
                    System.out.println(Devices.selectedDevices.get(0));
                 }

                if (nextItemInList.toString().equals("Asus Transformer Prime (#1)"))            
                //if (Devices.selectedDevices.iterator().toString() .equals("Asus Transformer Prime (#1)"))
                {
                    selectedSerial = "BKOKAS127271";
                    System.out.println(selectedSerial);
                    System.out.println(Devices.selectedDevices.get(0));
                }
            }            
        }

Answer 1

I would use a static map ( static means it's a class field, rather than an instance field, so all instances get to re-use the one map):

public class MyClass {

    private static Map<String, String> serialNumbers = new HashMap<String, String>() {{
        put("HTC Droid Eris", "A100000DA78159");
        put("Asus Transformer Prime (#1)", "BKOKAS127271");
        // etc
    }};

    // rest of class
}

then in your code, it's a one-liner:

String selectedValue = ...; // get it directly from the drop down
String selectedSerial = serialNumbers.get(selectedValue);

Answer 2

You may Iterate over the arraylist and compare with String.

Example: Assuming your list is of type String .

Iterator<String> listIter = yourList.iterator();
while(listIter.hasNext())
{
String nextItemInList = listIter.next();
if(nextItemInList.equals("YourOtherString")
{
//Do your logic.
}
}