It is time to emphasize arraylists over arrays in Java-based first programming courses

The array is typically the first aggregate collection taught in first programming courses. Arrays are commonly introduced as a way to implement variable-sized lists, despite their fixed size and, in first courses using Java, the availability of the ArrayList class, which represents variable-sized lists directly. It appears the array has been used mainly because of ArrayList's limitations. However, with the recent release of Java 5.0, the ArrayList structure now has properties that make it the better structure for representing contiguous lists, both conceptually and in terms of implementation. We argue that it is the list structure that should be introduced first, and the one emphasized, in a Javabased first course.