Working with arrays and lists

Arrays and lists are fundamental data structures in Groovy, providing a way to store and manipulate collections of data.

1. Arrays: Arrays in Groovy are similar to arrays in other programming languages, and can be created using square brackets and comma-separated values:

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   def numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
   println numbers[2]   // outputs: 3
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   Arrays in Groovy are dynamic, so you can add or remove elements from them at any time:

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   def numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
   numbers << 6
   println numbers   // outputs: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
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   Arrays in Groovy also have a rich set of built-in methods for manipulating and transforming arrays, such as sort, map, and reduce. For example:

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   def numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
   def squares = numbers.collect { it * it }
   println squares   // outputs: [1, 4, 9, 16, 25]
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2. Lists: Lists in Groovy are similar to arrays, but provide a more powerful and expressive API for working with collections of data. Lists can be created using square brackets and comma-separated values:

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   def names = ["John", "Jane", "Jim"]
   println names[1]   // outputs: "Jane"
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   Lists in Groovy also have a rich set of built-in methods for manipulating and transforming lists, such as sort, map, and reduce. For example:

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   def names = ["John", "Jane", "Jim"]
   def upper = names.collect { it.toUpperCase() }
   println upper   // outputs: ["JOHN", "JANE", "JIM"]
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These are just a few examples of the power and flexibility of arrays and lists in Groovy. With these tools, you can write code that is easy to read, write, and maintain, making Groovy a great choice for many types of projects.