Unexpected Infinite Loop in Merge Sort Implementation with Java Streams
I tried several approaches but none seem to work... I'm trying to figure out I'm currently implementing the merge sort algorithm using Java Streams, but I'm running into an infinite loop scenario during the merge phase. I've used `Stream.of()` to create the streams from the arrays, and I'm utilizing `Collectors.toList()` to convert the results back to lists. My goal is to maintain a functional programming style, but it seems like the merge logic isn't working correctly. Here's the code snippet: ```java import java.util.List; import java.util.Arrays; import java.util.stream.Collectors; import java.util.stream.Stream; public class MergeSort { public static List<Integer> mergeSort(List<Integer> list) { if (list.size() <= 1) { return list; } int mid = list.size() / 2; List<Integer> left = mergeSort(list.subList(0, mid)); List<Integer> right = mergeSort(list.subList(mid, list.size())); return merge(left, right); } private static List<Integer> merge(List<Integer> left, List<Integer> right) { return Stream.iterate(0, n -> n + 1) .limit(left.size() + right.size()) .map(i -> { if (left.isEmpty()) return right.remove(0); if (right.isEmpty()) return left.remove(0); return (left.get(0) < right.get(0)) ? left.remove(0) : right.remove(0); }) .collect(Collectors.toList()); } public static void main(String[] args) { List<Integer> unsorted = Arrays.asList(34, 7, 23, 32, 5, 62); List<Integer> sorted = mergeSort(unsorted); System.out.println(sorted); } } ``` When I run this code, it seems to get exploring in the `merge` method. I've confirmed that the `left` and `right` lists are being passed correctly, but it seems that the loop never terminates, which leads me to think there's an scenario with how the iterations are handled. I've tried debugging by printing out the sizes of the `left` and `right` lists at each merge call, and they seem correct before entering the loop. However, the logic inside the `map` function appears to be problematic. I'm unsure how to handle the removal of elements in a way that prevents the infinite loop. Does anyone have insights into what might be going wrong with this approach or suggestions on how to fix it? I am using Java 11.0.10 and I want to stick to a stream-based approach if possible. I'm working on a desktop app that needs to handle this. Any examples would be super helpful. Could someone point me to the right documentation?