Java String array - find the longest String in an array of Strings

Submitted by alvin on March 7, 2005 - 2:51pm

tags:

Java String array tip: Here is the source code for a complete Java class with a method (getLengthLongestString) that demonstrates how to determine the longest String in an array of Strings.

I just updated this example, so it now demonstrates the Java 5 for loop syntax when iterating through the String array.

Source code - the longest String in an array of Strings

public class JavaLongestStringInStringArray
{
  public static String getLengthLongestString(String[] array)
  {
    int maxLength = 0;
    String longestString = null;
    for (String s : array)
    {
      if (s.length() > maxLength)
      {
        maxLength = s.length();
        longestString = s;
      }
    }
    return longestString;
  }

  public static void main(String[] args)
  {
    String[] toppings = {"Cheese", "Pepperoni", "Black Olives"};
    String longestString = getLengthLongestString(toppings);
    System.out.format("longest string: '%s'\n", longestString);
  }
}

I created this method for use with setting the prototype value for a JList, i.e., using the setPrototypeCellValue method.