CodeSOD: Integral to a Database Read

Java distinguishes between object types and primitive types, causing confusion for beginners. Collection types like ArrayList require object types but cannot directly hold primitives. Java automatically boxes primitives into their object counterparts, simplifying usage. The provided code demonstrates a misunderstanding of this feature, unnecessarily boxing and unboxing integers. This code retrieves data from a database, populating an ArrayList with Integer objects. Instead of directly using the ArrayList, the code then creates an int array and copies the Integer values into it. This unnecessary conversion likely stems from a preference for primitive arrays. The need to iterate the ResultSet to determine its size necessitates an intermediate list. Using an int array might be a premature optimization or a reflection of a developer's preference. The author suspects the code was written by someone more familiar with C. The code could be simplified by using the ArrayList directly, taking advantage of Java's autoboxing. This approach avoids manual boxing, unboxing, and the creation of an unnecessary int array.