##Types
Given the description, I would assume that the return value is supposed to be int[]
instead of List<Integer>
....
... but, you are not using the more general List<Integer>
value, but instead the ArrayList<Integer>
. Always use the most general class type for your interfaces.
Also, by keeping the data as Integer values, you are doing a lot of boxing, and unboxing in the loops. Really, you should keep the calculations as Java primitives (int
), and then box the results if needed.
Conditions
Your code has a special-case for row 0, where it returns [1]
. By preference, I recommend not having special cases, although it is a rule I bend often.
Still, after the rowIndex == 0
special case, you then check to see whether it is rowIndex >= 1
. This does not make sense because the rowIndex == 0
case returned from the function, so the other condition is useless. Well, not quite useless, it avoids an error condition for negative values. But, the negative-value condition should have been checked at the method start. Basically, it is a useless check. Consider this restructure:
if (rowIndex < 0) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Nevative row");
}
if(rowIndex==0){
toAdd.add(1);
return toAdd;
}
toAdd = new ArrayList<Integer>();
toAdd.add(1);
toAdd.add(1);
allList.add(toAdd);
if(rowIndex==1){
return toAdd;
}
Conclusion
I agree that the complexity is about O(n2), but I know it must be psosible to do it faster. The data types are a problem, but the result looks accurate.
Alternative...
So, I cheated, and looked at wiki, and it has a relatively easy function for calculating the row values for a function. I adapted it here. This is the way I would have done it, if I was able to google the algorithm. I would have used a similar approach to you, but as arrays-of-int instead, if I could not search the algorithm.
public static final int[] pascalRow(final int row) {
// using same names as wikipedia:
// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_triangle#Calculating_a_row_or_diagonal_by_itself
int n = row + 1;
int[] ret = new int[n];
int val = 1;
final int mid = (n)/2;
for (int k = 0; k <= mid; k++) {
ret[k] = val;
ret[n - 1 - k] = val;
val = (int)(val * ((n - k - 1) / (double)(k + 1)));
}
return ret;
}