Java Program to Find Third Largest Element in an Array or List

In Java, there are multiple ways to find third largest element in an array or list. In this example, we will see two approaches:

  • Using Java 8 Stream API with skip()
  • Using Arrays.sort() and array indexing

Both methods are simple and useful for interview preparation as well as coding practice.

Using Stream.skip() method :-

  • Convert the array elements into a list using Arrays.asList()
  • Convert the list into a stream using stream() method
  • Sort the list in descending order using Comparator.reverseOrder()
  • Skip the first two elements using skip(2)
  • Use findFirst() to get the third largest element
  • Inside if condition we validate 3rd largest element is present or not.
  • Now we will print 3rd longest element from get() method.

Using Arrays.sort() method :-

  • Find the size of the array using the length property
  • Sort the array using Arrays.sort().
  • Access the third largest element using array[size – 3]
  • Now we will print 3rd longest element.
    				
					import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Optional;

public class ThirdLargestElement {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		List<Integer> arrayList = Arrays.asList(220, 2, 16, 238, 185);

		// Stream.skip() method
		Optional<Integer> thirdLargest = arrayList.stream()
		                        .sorted(Comparator.reverseOrder())
		                         .skip(2).findFirst();
		if (thirdLargest.isPresent()) {
			System.out.println("3rd largest element are :- " + thirdLargest.get());
		}
		// Using size method
		int array[] = {220, 2, 16, 238, 185};
		int size = array.length;
		Arrays.sort(array);
		int in = array[size - 3];
		System.out.println("3rd largest element are :" + in);
	}
}

    Output :-
    3rd largest element are :- 185
    3rd largest element are :185

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