Name: bk70084 Date: 11/03/97


Array resizing is something programmers often need
to do.

Right now, the best way to do it is:

(1) allocate a new array and assign it to a new
    temporary variable
(2) using the System.arraycopy method, copy the
    elements from the original array into the new
    array
(3) assign the handle of the new array to the old
    variable

This is tedious.

Would it be cool if an array's "length" property
was writable?

int [] ar = new int [5];
...use ar for a while...
...decide it's time to make it an array of 10 elements...
ar . length = 10;
/* done */

I think this is an interesting idea worth pursuing,
and it would not compromise backward compatibility.

Another alternative is to add a resize () method
to all arrays.
(Review ID: 19257)
======================================================================