Kotlin List getOrElse()
Syntax & Examples

Syntax of List.getOrElse()

The syntax of List.getOrElse() extension function is:

fun <T> List<T>.getOrElse( index: Int, defaultValue: (Int) -> T ): T

This getOrElse() extension function of List returns an element at the given index or the result of calling the defaultValue function if the index is out of bounds of this list.

✐ Examples

1 Example

In this example,

We create a list named list containing strings.
We use the getOrElse function to retrieve the element at index 5 from the list. Since the index is out of bounds, the default value "default" is returned.
We print the retrieved element to standard output.

Kotlin Program

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val list = listOf("apple", "banana", "cherry");
    val element = list.getOrElse(5) { "default" }
    println(element);
}

Output

default

2 Example

In this example,

We create a list named list containing integers.
We use the getOrElse function to retrieve the element at index 1 from the list. The element at index 1 is 20.
We print the retrieved element to standard output.

Kotlin Program

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val list = listOf(10, 20, 30);
    val element = list.getOrElse(1) { 0 }
    println(element);
}

Output

3 Example

In this example,

We create a list named list containing characters.
We use the getOrElse function to retrieve the element at index 3 from the list. Since the index is out of bounds, the default value 'z' is returned.
We print the retrieved element to standard output.

Kotlin Program

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val list = listOf('a', 'b', 'c');
    val element = list.getOrElse(3) { 'z' }
    println(element);
}

Output

Summary

In this Kotlin tutorial, we learned about getOrElse() extension function of List: the syntax and few working examples with output and detailed explanation for each example.