Working with Streams and Lambda Expressions →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

1Z0-829 Working with Streams and Lambda Expressions Practice Question

A developer wants to find the longest word in a list of strings. Which stream operation should be used?

⚠ Common exam trap

Many candidates confuse `min()` and `max()` or incorrectly assume that sorting and taking the first element is the intended approach, overlooking the direct and efficient `max()` operation.

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

stream().max(Comparator.comparingInt(String::length))

The `max()` terminal operation, when combined with a `Comparator` that compares strings by their length, returns the longest word in the stream. The `max()` operation uses the provided comparator to determine the 'largest' element according to the ordering, which in this case is the string with the greatest length.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
stream().sorted(Comparator.comparingInt(String::length).reversed()).findFirst()
Why it's wrong here
Works but not as direct as max.
✗
stream().min(Comparator.comparingInt(String::length))
Why it's wrong here
Returns shortest.
✗
stream().sorted(Comparator.comparingInt(String::length)).findFirst()
Why it's wrong here
Returns shortest.
✓
stream().max(Comparator.comparingInt(String::length))
Why this is correct
Correct.

Go deeper

1Z0-829 Working with Streams and Lambda Expressions Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

Related to this question