1. Overview
In this tutorial, we’ll see how we can create a List with the same repeated element in Scala.
2. Creating a List With the Same Repeated Element
A List with the same repeating element can be created in a variety of ways. We’ll explore these now by creating a List containing the word “element” five times.
2.1. Using a Loop Approach
Let’s start by using a naïve approach and using a loop to achieve our goal:
scala> (for(i <- 1 to 5) yield "element").toList
val res0: List[String] = List(element, element, element, element, element)
We can also use the map() method in a very similar way:
scala> (0 until 5).map(_ => "element").toList
val res1: List[String] = List(element, element, element, element, element)
While these naïve solutions work, there’s a more idiomatic approach we’ll see next.
2.2. Using List‘s fill() Method
Since List is a subclass of Seq, we can use its fill() method to get a List with the same repeated element:
scala> List.fill(5)("element")
val res2: List[String] = List(element, element, element, element, element)
This solution is more idiomatic and straightforward.
3. Conclusion
In this article, we learned how to create a List with the same repeated element in Scala.