Ultimate Guide to Create List in Salesforce and Set Methods: To Ensure A Bright Career

 Salesforce methods have numerous applications which are used to group data based on different data types. With the increase in remote work, more and more organizations are adopting Salesforce to assist the remote sales teams.

9.3 million new jobs and $1.6 trillion new business revenue will be created by the Salesforce economy by 2026. (Resource: Salesforce)

If you are thinking of making a career in Salesforce, you need to be aware of Apex set and Apex list methods in Salesforce, because the output of the SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) query is a list in Salesforce. Here, going through a professional Salesforce Training Certification. 

Let’s know all whats and whys of Apex List methods and Set methods in Salesforce with some examples.

Creating lists and using set methods in Salesforce is a fundamental skill that can significantly enhance your career as a Salesforce developer or administrator. In this ultimate guide, we'll cover everything you need to know to work with lists and sets effectively in Salesforce.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction to Lists and Sets
2. Declaring Lists and Sets in Apex
3. Adding Elements to Lists and Sets
4. Accessing Elements in Lists and Sets
5. Modifying Elements in Lists and Sets
6. Removing Elements from Lists and Sets
7. List and Set Methods
8. Common Use Cases
9. Best Practices
10. Conclusion

1. Introduction to Lists and Sets:

In Salesforce Apex, a list is an ordered collection of elements of the same data type, and a set is an unordered collection of unique elements of the same data type. Both lists and sets can store multiple records or values, but sets automatically deduplicate the data, ensuring uniqueness.

2. Declaring Lists and Sets in Apex:

To declare a list or a set in Apex, you can use the following syntax:

apex
// Declaring a list
List<DataType> myList = new List<DataType>();

// Declaring a set
Set<DataType> mySet = new Set<DataType>();

Replace DataType with the appropriate data type you want to store in your list or set.

3. Adding Elements to Lists and Sets:

To add elements to a list, you can use the add() method. To add elements to a set, you can use the add() method as well. However, remember that the set will automatically ensure uniqueness.

apex
List<String> myList = new List<String>();
myList.add('Apple');
myList.add('Banana');
myList.add('Orange');

Set<String> mySet = new Set<String>();
mySet.add('Apple');
mySet.add('Banana');
mySet.add('Orange');

4. Accessing Elements in Lists and Sets:

You can access elements in a list or set using square brackets and the index of the element you want to access.

apex
List<String> myList = new List<String>();
myList.add('Apple');
myList.add('Banana');
myList.add('Orange');

String fruit = myList[1]; // This will retrieve 'Banana'

5. Modifying Elements in Lists and Sets:

To modify elements in a list or set, simply use the square bracket notation to access the element and assign a new value.

apex
List<String> myList = new List<String>();
myList.add('Apple');
myList.add('Banana');
myList.add('Orange');

myList[1] = 'Grapes'; // This will change 'Banana' to 'Grapes'

6. Removing Elements from Lists and Sets:

To remove elements from a list, you can use the remove() method. To remove elements from a set, use the remove() method as well.

apex
List<String> myList = new List<String>();
myList.add('Apple');
myList.add('Banana');
myList.add('Orange');

myList.remove('Banana'); // This will remove 'Banana' from the list

Set<String> mySet = new Set<String>();
mySet.add('Apple');
mySet.add('Banana');
mySet.add('Orange');

mySet.remove('Banana'); // This will remove 'Banana' from the set

7. List and Set Methods:

Salesforce provides various built-in methods for lists and sets. Some common methods include:

• size(): Returns the number of elements in the list or set.
• contains(): Checks if a specific element exists in the list or set.
• addAll(): Adds all elements from one list or set to another.
• clear(): Removes all elements from the list or set.

8. Common Use Cases:

• Storing records fetched from a Salesforce query in a list or set for further processing.
• Deduplicating data using sets to ensure uniqueness.
• Manipulating data before DML (Data Manipulation Language) operations.

9. Best Practices:

• Use sets when you need unique elements, and lists when order matters.
• Avoid using nested loops with large lists or sets, as it can cause performance issues.
• Consider using the addAll() method when adding multiple elements to a list or set to reduce DML operations.

10. Conclusion:

Mastering lists and sets in Salesforce is essential for anyone looking to pursue a career as a Salesforce developer or administrator. By understanding how to work with lists and sets efficiently, you can streamline data processing, improve performance, and ensure data integrity.

Remember to practice regularly, explore additional Apex collections like maps, and stay updated with Salesforce platform releases to maximize your potential as a Salesforce professional. Good luck on your journey to a bright Salesforce career!