Concatenate Streams

Variable declaration for examples:

Collection<String> abc = Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c");
Collection<String> digits = Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3");
Collection<String> greekAbc = Arrays.asList("alpha", "beta", "gamma");

Example 1 - Concatenate two Streams

final Stream<String> concat1 = Stream.concat(abc.stream(), digits.stream());

concat1.forEach(System.out::print);
// prints: abc123

Example 2 - Concatenate more than two Streams

final Stream<String> concat2 = Stream.concat(
    Stream.concat(abc.stream(), digits.stream()),
    greekAbc.stream());

System.out.println(concat2.collect(Collectors.joining(", ")));
// prints: a, b, c, 1, 2, 3, alpha, beta, gamma

Alternatively to simplify the nested concat() syntax the Streams can also be concatenated with flatMap():

final Stream<String> concat3 = Stream.of(
    abc.stream(), digits.stream(), greekAbc.stream())
    .flatMap(s -> s);
    // or `.flatMap(Function.identity());` (java.util.function.Function)

System.out.println(concat3.collect(Collectors.joining(", ")));
// prints: a, b, c, 1, 2, 3, alpha, beta, gamma

Be careful when constructing Streams from repeated concatenation, because accessing an element of a deeply concatenated Stream can result in deep call chains or even a StackOverflowException.

Found a mistake? Have a question or improvement idea? Let me know.

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