Speeds of Accessing Arrays vs. ArrayList Java

Question

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Array or List in Java. Which is faster?

I started a project where I will be constantly accessing an Arraylist that will never be changed. Would it be faster to access an ArrayList or an Array and by how much?

Answer 1

The difference will probably not be noticeable as the JVM will most likely optimise the call if you use it very often. And using List will give you a more robust and flexible code, so I would personally use Lists.

There is only one way to know: test it (after having read this post about how to test the performance of a Java application).

Answer 2

if its constant, how about an Enum, you can add logic directly to the enum instances.