We can iterate over anything. Well, not really there are edge cases where we have to follow an approach such as the Iterator design pattern in order to create a clean design of our code. For understanding the magic behind iterators in java you need to understand the Iterator design pattern. In this article we are going to see what is the iterator design pattern, benefits of the iterator design pattern, and the iterator design pattern example in java.

What is the Iterator Design Pattern?

Java Provides some built-in containers to store and access the elements. For example — the Array List or a simple Array object can do that for us. Generally, we instantiate an array object and feed into the list whatever data we need to loop over later. But what if we want to create a custom list. Say, we are creating an application for a Toy Store and it has an inventory object that contains the log of items that came in and went out and also the list of toys that needs to be sold.

#technology #design-patterns #programming #iterator-pattern #java