problems printing from array list in hashmap

[Sam Smythe]

The original code was supplied and we modified it as part of an assignment to add a hashmap and a print method, etc. I seem to have most of it working, but am having problems with the printMessages method.

If there are no messages, I get a null pointer exception despite the if statement that should solve that. If there are messages, It works fine, except the message comes out as gibberish even though I called toString on it. Can anyone see the problems in the code?


import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.HashMap;

/**
*
*/
public class MailServer
{

//HashMap using generics
private HashMap <String, ArrayList><MailItem>> messages;

/**
* construct MailServer and initialize HashMap
*/
public MailServer()
{
messages = new HashMap<String, ArrayList><MailItem>>();
}


/**
* return messages by user name
* @param name is user request is made for
* if no messages, return null
*/
public MailItem getNextMailItem(String name)
{
ArrayList<MailItem> lists = messages.get(name);
if (lists == null) {
return null;
}
Iterator<MailItem> it = lists.iterator();
while(it.hasNext()) {
MailItem mess = it.next();
it.remove();
return mess;
}
return null;
}

/**
* filter spam if message subject starts with "spam" or has "viagra" in subject
* */
public void post(MailItem item)
{
String name = item.getTo();
//filter spam
if (item.getSubject().toLowerCase().startsWith("spam") || item.getMessage().toLowerCase().contains("viagra")) {
return;
}
if (! messages.containsKey(name)) {
messages.put(name, new ArrayList<MailItem>());
}
messages.get(name).add (item);
}



public void printMessages(String name)
{
ArrayList<MailItem> lists = messages.get(name);
if (lists == null) {
System.out.println("No messages");

}
else
{
Iterator<MailItem> it = lists.iterator();
while(it.hasNext())
{
MailItem mess = (MailItem)it.next();
System.out.println("Messages for: " + name);
System.out.println(mess.toString());
}
}

}
}

[Christophe Verré]

Works for me. (except that I had to correct <String, ArrayList><MailItem>>

When no messages are in the map, could you please send the exception you get ?

[Sam Smythe]

The no message works for me now too. We use BlueJ and sometimes it can be weird.

I am still getting the gibberish if there is a message


Messages for: two
MailItem@16f144c

The user's name was two...so that is fine, but I don't seem to be getting the mailitem back from object to string.

I tried to add what you had in your answer, but BlueJ won't compile with it. Maybe I am doing it wrong...where did you put it?

[Christophe Verré]

MailItem@16f144c

This is not gibberish.
You need to override the toString() method in MailItem.
For example :

public String toString() {
   return "To: " + getTo() + "; " + getSubject() + "; " + getMessage();
}

And then in printMessages():

System.out.println(mess); // no need to call toString() explicitly