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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-23T17:01:01+00:00

E.g. why does val list:List[Any] = List[Int](1,2,3) work, but val arr:Array[Any] = Array[Int](1,2,3) fails

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E.g. why does

val list:List[Any] = List[Int](1,2,3)

work, but

val arr:Array[Any] = Array[Int](1,2,3)

fails (because arrays are invariant). What is the desired effect behind this design decision?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Because it would break type-safety otherwise.
    If not, you would be able to do something like this:

    val arr:Array[Int] = Array[Int](1,2,3)
val arr2:Array[Any] = arr
arr2(0) = 2.54

    and the compiler can’t catch it.

    On the other hand, lists are immutable, so you can’t add something that is not Int

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