Thread: ArrayList Unexpected Return

I'm attempting to return all the values in the array list I created and don't seem to be successful.

Here is my Student class.

import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
            public class Student 
            {
                 public String sName = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Please enter a name.");
	    }

Here is my Main method.

import java.util.*;
           public class Main 
           {
 
	   public static void main(String[] args)
	   {
		ArrayList<Student> students = new ArrayList<Student>();
		students.add(new Student());
		System.out.println("The size of the array is " + students.size());
                System.out.println(students);
 
	  }
 
}

When run, I am prompted for the name and told the correct size of the array. However, the name is always outprinted as [Student@9fef6f], no matter what I type in. I always get the correct array size, even if I add more students, so I don't think I am storing them wrong, but I don't know.

I have tried using the students.get(0);, but it still results in the same error. Perhaps the name I type in isn't even getting stored and only incrementing the array?

When trying to print an Object using the method you are using

System.out.println(object);//where object is something that extends Object

the toString method is called. This by default returns : getClass().getName() + '@' + Integer.toHexString(hashCode())
which is usually - as in this case - meaningless to a user. To overcome this, you could override this method in your Student class to return a string that is more meaningful. This won't help with printing the ArrayList directly, but will help you print each object that the ArrayList returns.