List<List<Char>> + List<Char> = List<Any>? - kotlin

Question

I have a below code which works.
class ListManipulate(val list: List<Char>, val blockCount: Int) {
val result: MutableList<List<Char>> = mutableListOf()
fun permute(sequence: List<Int> = emptyList(), start: Int = 0, count: Int = blockCount) {
if (count == 0) {
result.add(constructSequence(sequence))
return
}
for (i in start .. list.size - count) {
permute(sequence + i, i + 1, count - 1)
}
}
private fun constructSequence(sequence: List<Int>): List<Char> {
var result = emptyList<Char>()
for (i in sequence) {
result += list[i]
}
return result
}
}
However, when I change the result from MutableList to normal List, i.e.
var result: List<List<Char>> = emptyList()
// ...
result += constructSequence(sequence)
I got this error Type mismatch. Require: List<List<Char>>; Found: List<Any>
The full code as below
class ListManipulate(val list: List<Char>, val blockCount: Int) {
var result: List<List<Char>> = emptyList()
fun permute(sequence: List<Int> = emptyList(), start: Int = 0, count: Int = blockCount) {
if (count == 0) {
result += constructSequence(sequence)
return
}
for (i in start .. list.size - count) {
permute(sequence + i, i + 1, count - 1)
}
}
private fun constructSequence(sequence: List<Int>): List<Char> {
var result = emptyList<Char>()
for (i in sequence) {
result += list[i]
}
return result
}
}
Why result + constructSequence(sequence) would result in List<Any> instead of List<List<Char>>?
Is there a way I could still use the normal List> and not the mutable list?

Answer 1

CTRL + click on the + in IDEA, you'll see that it takes you to the following function:
/**
* Returns a list containing all elements of the original collection and then all elements of the given [elements] collection.
*/
public operator fun <T> Collection<T>.plus(elements: Iterable<T>): List<T> {
/* ... */
}
Which means that you add all the individual elements of elements to the receiver. That is, you'll add all T's to the List<List<T>>. Since List<T> is not T, you'll get List<Any> as a result.

Answer 2

The problem is that += is overloaded. If it sees an Iterable, Array or Sequence it behaves differently. You have to explicitly use plusElement() to achieve the behaviour you intend.
Consider the following code.:
class ListManipulate(val list: List<Char>, val blockCount: Int) {
var result: List<List<Char>> = emptyList()
fun permute(sequence: List<Int> = emptyList(), start: Int = 0, count: Int = blockCount) {
if (count == 0) {
result = result.plusElement(constructSequence(sequence))
return
}
for (i in start..list.size - count) {
permute(sequence + i, i + 1, count - 1)
}
}
private fun constructSequence(sequence: List<Int>): List<Char> =
List(sequence.size, { i -> list[sequence[i]] })
}
PS: I also took the liberty to update your constructSequence() to something more concise.
Btw: += uses addAll internally.
/**
* Returns a list containing all elements of the original collection and then all elements of the given [elements] collection.
*/
public operator fun <T> Collection<T>.plus(elements: Iterable<T>): List<T> {
if (elements is Collection) {
val result = ArrayList<T>(this.size + elements.size)
result.addAll(this)
result.addAll(elements)
return result
} else {
val result = ArrayList<T>(this)
result.addAll(elements)
return result
}
}
Side note: you can also do:
result.toMutableList().add(constructSequence(sequence))
It is fine to return a MutableList, the only difference really is that the List interface doesnt have the manipulation methods. Internally both are represented by an ArrayList
#SinceKotlin("1.1")
#kotlin.internal.InlineOnly
public inline fun <T> List(size: Int, init: (index: Int) -> T): List<T> = MutableList(size, init)