Remove specific index from array in java

Question

Can I remove a specific element from array by mentioning index value? For example can I remove the character d by giving index value 1?

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Answer 1

If you need to remove one or multiple elements from array without converting it to List nor creating additional array, you may do it in O(n) not dependent on count of items to remove.

Here, a is initial array, int... r are distinct ordered indices (positions) of elements to remove:

public int removeItems(Object[] a, int... r) {
    int shift = 0;                             
    for (int i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {       
        if (shift < r.length && i == r[shift])  // i-th item needs to be removed
            shift++;                            // increment `shift`
        else 
            a[i - shift] = a[i];                // move i-th item `shift` positions left
    }
    for (int i = a.length - shift; i < a.length; i++)
        a[i] = null;                            // replace remaining items by nulls

    return a.length - shift;                    // return new "length"
}  

Small testing:

Character[] words = {'c','d','f','h','j'};
removeItems(words, 1);
System.out.println(Arrays.asList(words));       // [c, f, h, j, null]