Java Academy · Lesson

partitioningBy and counting

Split a stream into two groups with partitioningBy and count elements with counting.

partitioningBy and counting is a free Java Academy lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 2 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Java Academy learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.

partitioningBy Basics

Collectors.partitioningBy(predicate) splits a stream into exactly two groups — true and false — and returns a Map<Boolean, List<T>>.

import java.util.*;
import java.util.stream.*;

List<Integer> nums = List.of(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10);

Map<Boolean, List<Integer>> evenOdd =
    nums.stream().collect(Collectors.partitioningBy(n -> n % 2 == 0));

System.out.println(evenOdd.get(true));  // [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]
System.out.println(evenOdd.get(false)); // [1, 3, 5, 7, 9]

partitioningBy vs filter

Unlike filter, partitioningBy retains both groups simultaneously — useful when you need both halves of the partition.

record Student(String name, int score) {}
List<Student> students = List.of(
    new Student("Alice",90), new Student("Bob",55),
    new Student("Carol",72), new Student("Dave",48)
);

Map<Boolean, List<Student>> result =
    students.stream().collect(
        Collectors.partitioningBy(s -> s.score() >= 60)
    );
System.out.println("Passed: " + result.get(true).size());
System.out.println("Failed: " + result.get(false).size());

Downstream with partitioningBy

Combine partitioningBy with a downstream collector just like groupingBy:

Map<Boolean, Long> passFailCount =
    students.stream().collect(
        Collectors.partitioningBy(
            s -> s.score() >= 60,
            Collectors.counting()
        )
    );
System.out.println("Passed: " + passFailCount.get(true));
System.out.println("Failed: " + passFailCount.get(false));

counting() Collector

Collectors.counting() counts the number of elements in the stream (or downstream group). It is a convenience equivalent of reducing(0L, e -> 1L, Long::sum).

long count = Stream.of("a","bb","ccc","dddd")
    .collect(Collectors.counting());
System.out.println(count); // 4

// Same as:
long count2 = Stream.of("a","bb","ccc","dddd").count();
// Use counting() as a downstream; use .count() as a terminal op

counting() as downstream

counting() shines as a downstream for groupingBy/partitioningBy:

List<String> words = List.of("cat","dog","car","door","cup","dune");

Map<Character, Long> byFirstLetter =
    words.stream().collect(
        Collectors.groupingBy(w -> w.charAt(0), Collectors.counting())
    );
byFirstLetter.forEach((c, n) -> System.out.println(c + ": " + n));
// c: 3, d: 3

Partition into names

Extract names from each partition using a mapping downstream:

Map<Boolean, List<String>> namesByPass =
    students.stream().collect(
        Collectors.partitioningBy(
            s -> s.score() >= 60,
            Collectors.mapping(Student::name, Collectors.toList())
        )
    );
System.out.println("Passed: " + namesByPass.get(true));
System.out.println("Failed: " + namesByPass.get(false));

Combining counting with summarizingInt

Collectors.summarizingInt() computes count, sum, min, max, and average in one pass:

IntSummaryStatistics stats =
    students.stream().collect(
        Collectors.summarizingInt(Student::score)
    );
System.out.println("Count: " + stats.getCount());
System.out.println("Average: " + stats.getAverage());
System.out.println("Max: " + stats.getMax());
System.out.println("Min: " + stats.getMin());

Real Use Case: A/B Test Split

Partition users into control/treatment groups for an A/B test:

record User(String id, boolean isInTreatment) {}
List<User> users = List.of(
    new User("u1",true), new User("u2",false),
    new User("u3",true), new User("u4",false)
);

Map<Boolean, Long> split =
    users.stream().collect(
        Collectors.partitioningBy(User::isInTreatment, Collectors.counting())
    );
System.out.println("Treatment: " + split.get(true)); // 2
System.out.println("Control: " + split.get(false));  // 2

Frequency Map with groupingBy + counting

Count occurrences of each element (word frequency map):

List<String> words2 = List.of("apple","banana","apple","cherry","banana","apple");

Map<String, Long> freq =
    words2.stream().collect(
        Collectors.groupingBy(w -> w, Collectors.counting())
    );
freq.entrySet().stream()
    .sorted(Map.Entry.<String,Long>comparingByValue().reversed())
    .forEach(e -> System.out.println(e.getKey()+": "+e.getValue()));

partitioningBy always returns both keys

Unlike groupingBy, partitioningBy always returns a map with both true and false keys — even if one group is empty. This avoids NullPointerExceptions on map.get(true).

List<Integer> allEven = List.of(2,4,6);
Map<Boolean, List<Integer>> m =
    allEven.stream().collect(Collectors.partitioningBy(n -> n % 2 != 0));
System.out.println(m.get(true));  // [] (empty, not null)
System.out.println(m.get(false)); // [2, 4, 6]

Performance: Single Pass

Both partitioningBy and counting operate in a single stream pass — O(n). They do not require sorting. This makes them far more efficient than calling filter twice or sorting before grouping.

Quick Check

What is the return type of Collectors.partitioningBy(predicate)?

Recap: partitioningBy and counting

Key takeaways:

partitioningBy splits into exactly two groups (true/false)
Both keys always present — no NPE risk unlike groupingBy
counting() counts elements; use as downstream for groups
summarizingInt/Long/Double gives count+sum+min+max+avg in one pass
All operate in a single O(n) stream pass

Frequently asked questions

Is the “partitioningBy and counting” lesson free?

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What will I learn in “partitioningBy and counting”?

Split a stream into two groups with partitioningBy and count elements with counting. You practise Java Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start Java Academy?

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