What differences exist between Iterator and ListIterator ?

The differences between the Iterator and ListIterator interfaces in Java primarily revolve around their capabilities and the types of collections they can traverse. Here are the key distinctions:

Applicability to Different Collections

• Iterator: It can be used to traverse any type of collection, including Set, List, and Map
• ListIterator: This is specifically designed to traverse List type collections only, such as ArrayList and LinkedList. It cannot be used with Set or Map

Direction of Traversal

• Iterator: Allows traversal of elements in a forward direction only
• ListIterator: Supports bidirectional traversal, meaning it can iterate both forwards and backwards through the list

Additional Functionalities

• Iterator: Provides basic functionalities like hasNext(), next(), and remove()
• ListIterator: Offers more advanced features in addition to those provided by Iterator. It includes methods like hasPrevious(), previous(), nextIndex(), previousIndex(), set(), and add(). These methods allow not only moving back and forth but also modifying the list during iteration and obtaining indexes of elements duri...