ArrayList method is creating an error upon calling - arraylist

Question

Hello everyone I'm tying to create a method that receives a list of string values and returns the list in reverse. The for loop is supposed to traverse the values in reverse order, starting with the last element. I'm getting an error message when I try to call the method in the main method, I don't know what argument to pass. Here is my code.
enter code here :import java.util.*;
public class ThisList
{
public static void main (String[] args)
{
list(ArrayList<String> words);
}
public static ArrayList<String> list(ArrayList<String> words)
{
ArrayList<String> phrase =new ArrayList<String>();
words.add("before");
words.add("gone");
words.add("has");
words.add("man");
words.add("no");
words.add("where");
words.add("go");
words.add("bodly");
words.add("To");
for(int i= words.size()-1; i>= 0; i--)
{
phrase.add(words.get(i));
}
return phrase;
}
}

Answer 1

Your problem lies in how you are calling your list() function in main, specifically in how you are improperly sending in your argument. You should not declare/initialize an object in the calling of a function. It is syntactically incorrect, plus how would you access it afterwards? Even if it was possible to declare an object in the calling of the function, the words array is also uninitialized when you are trying to use it. Also, your function list() is returning an ArrayList. You are not setting an ArrayList in your main() function to be set to the returning ArrayList(phrase) from list().
I would advise looking over Object-Oriented programming basics and a few beginner Java tutorials so you can get a better understanding to be able to solve this kind of problem on your own.
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/concepts/
Below is the code you posted, with the proper way to call your function. If this is what you need, do not forget to upvote and select this answer as the correct one! (Upvote by pressing the up arrow next to the post, and accept answer by clicking the checkmark next to the post so that it turns green).
import java.util.*;
public class ThisList
{
public static void main (String[] args)
{
ArrayList<String> words = new ArrayList<String>();
ArrayList<String> phrase_returned = list(words);
}
public static ArrayList<String> list(ArrayList<String> words)
{
ArrayList<String> phrase =new ArrayList<String>();
words.add("before");
words.add("gone");
words.add("has");
words.add("man");
words.add("no");
words.add("where");
words.add("go");
words.add("bodly");
words.add("To");
for(int i= words.size()-1; i>= 0; i--)
{
phrase.add(words.get(i));
}
return phrase;
}
}