Question

write a function which decodes a URL-encoded string into an associative array. If there are two parameters with same name, the value should be stacked as an array.

For example, the string

a=1&b=2&a=hello&apple=9&apple=digital

would be converted to the associative array:

array( 'a' => array(1,'hello'), 'b'=> 2, 'apple' => array(9,'digital') )

Answer 1

Consider using Map<String, ArrayList<String>>

For example:

Map<String, ArrayList<String>> m = new HashMap<String, ArrayList<String>>();

ArrayList<String> arr = new ArrayList<String>();
arr.add("value1");
arr.add("value2");

m.put("key", arr);

System.out.println(m); // {key=[value1, value2]}