Thi should work but is not. (Longish code Sorry :))

Question

Hi I am using a ArrayList that can be set to various other arrayList values according to what commant is sent to the BL of my application. I know I am doing something wrong coz if I return the phonlist alone in my getList method by making the modifiedList equal to the phonelist i get the correct output. However I now try make the list variable equal to the phoneList in my createNew() and then i try set the modifiedList variable to the value of the list variable. It does not work.
Declaration in class
ArrayList<Person> phoneList = new ArrayList<Person>();               // To hold all the contacts
     ArrayList<Person> searchList = new ArrayList<Person>();               // To hold all contacts that return true on search
     ArrayList<Person> list = new ArrayList<Person>();
     final int maxLength = 10;                                                  // To be used as a boundary value for the Strings enteredWhere I set the list to be the value of the phoneList in my createNew()
public void createNew()
     { // start of createNew()
          Person p = new Person();
          boolean validNewEntry = true;                                        // A boolean that determines if the ArrayList must be updated
          int count = 0;                                                            // Counter used in loop
          int homeNum, workNum, cellNum =0;                                   // To be used in a try statemant to test validity
          //Get new Contacts name
          String newName = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null,"Please enter new contacts name or press cancel to exit.");
          if(newName == null)
               finish();
          //If no name was enetered warn and try again
          if(newName.length() <= 0)
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may not enter a empty name. Please try again.","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
               validNewEntry = false;
               createNew();
               return;
          //If name was enetered and it's length was greater then 10 chars long
          //Retry and warn as this will lead to a faulty layout in the GUI
          if(newName.length() > 10)
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may not enter a name longer than 10 characters. Please try again.","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
               validNewEntry = false;
               createNew();
               return;
          //Get the new contacts surname
          String newSurname = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null,"Please enter the new contacts surname or press cancel to exit.");
          if(newSurname == null)
               finish();
          //If the surname is greater than 10 chars long
          //Retry and warn as this will lead to a faulty layout in the GUI
          if(newSurname.length() > 10)
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may not enter a surname longer than 10 characters. Please try again.","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
               validNewEntry = false;
               createNew();
               return;
          //If there was no surname entered check and make sure that they want a whitespace value for the surname.
          if(newSurname.length() <= 0)
               int answer =JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null,"Are you sure you wish to leave the surname blank for new contact?","No date entered",JOptionPane.YES_NO_OPTION);
               if(answer == JOptionPane.NO_OPTION)
                    validNewEntry = false;
                    createNew();
                    return;
               else
                    validNewEntry = true;
          //Get the new contacts home number if there is one
          String newHome = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null,"Please enter the contacts home number or press cancel to exit.");
          if(newHome.length()> 0)
               try
                    homeNum = Integer.parseInt(newHome);
               catch(Exception e)
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may only use numbers for a valid phone number. Please try again","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
                    validNewEntry = false;
                    createNew();
                    return;
          // If there is a new pone number make sure that it is not longer than 10 characters
          // This may be changed as this is only correct in South Africa where phone number are not longer than 10 characters
          // If Data is changed please ensure to increase the spacing int the Layout
          if(newHome.trim().length()> 10)
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may not enter a number longer than 10 digits long. Please try again.","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
               validNewEntry = false;
               createNew();
               return;
          // Get the new work number if there is one.
          String newWork = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null,"Please enter the contacts work number or press cancel to exit.");
          if(newWork.length()> 0)
               try
                    workNum = Integer.parseInt(newWork);
               catch(Exception e)
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may only use numbers for a valid phone number. Please try again","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
                    validNewEntry = false;
                    createNew();
                    return;
          // If there is a new pone number make sure that it is not longer than 10 characters
          // This may be changed as this is only correct in South Africa where phone number are not longer than 10 characters
          // If Data is changed please ensure to increase the spacing int the Layout
          if(newWork.trim().length()> 10)
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may not enter a number longer than 10 digits long. Please try again.","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
               validNewEntry = false;
               createNew();
               return;
          // Get new cell number if there is one
          String newCell = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null,"Please enter the contacts cell number or press cancel to exit.");
          if(newCell.length()> 0)
               try
                    cellNum = Integer.parseInt(newCell);
               catch(Exception e)
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may only use numbers for a valid phone number. Please try again","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
                    validNewEntry = false;
                    createNew();
                    return;
          // If there is a new pone number make sure that it is not longer than 10 characters
          // This may be changed as this is only correct in South Africa where phone number are not longer than 10 characters
          // If Data is changed please ensure to increase the spacing in the Layout
          if(newCell.trim().length()> 10)
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may not enter a number longer than 10 digits long. Please try again.","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
               validNewEntry = false;
               createNew();
               return;
          // Check to see if contact is not a duplicate
          for(Person c: phoneList)
               c = phoneList.get(count);
               if((c.name).equals(newName.trim().toUpperCase())&&(c.surname).equals(newSurname.trim().toUpperCase()))
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You may not enter duplicate contacts. \nPlease abbreviate or change the contacts name/surname.","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
                    validNewEntry = false;
                    createNew();
                    break;
               count ++;
          // If there were no phone numbers at all then set boolean to false as no point in adding a entry without numbers to a phonebook
          if((newHome.length()<=0) && (newWork.length()<=0) && (newCell.length()<=0))
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"You have not entered any phone numbers for "+newName+" "+newSurname+"\nThis phonebook only accepts new entries with at least one phone number.\nPlease try again!","Error",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
               validNewEntry = false;
               createNew();
               return;
          //If all data entered was valid then try add it to the ArrayList
          if(validNewEntry == true)
               try
                    p.name = newName.trim().toUpperCase();
                    p.surname = newSurname.trim().toUpperCase();
                    p.home = newHome.trim();
                    p.work = newWork.trim();
                    p.cell = newCell.trim();
                    phoneList.add(p);
               catch(Exception e)
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Could not add contact. If problem persists Please call the system Administrator.","Information Message",JOptionPane.INFORMATION_MESSAGE);
          list = phoneList;
     } // end of createNew()and lastly my getList() that returns the list to the GUI
public ArrayList<Person> getList()
          ArrayList<Person> modifiedList = new ArrayList<Person>();
          modifiedList = list;
          return modifiedList;
     }Like I said it works if I do this....
public ArrayList<Person> getList()
          ArrayList<Person> modifiedList = new ArrayList<Person>();
          modifiedList = phoneList;
          return modifiedList;
     }

Answer 1

I haven't read everything yet, but looking at that code at the bottom:
public ArrayList<Person> getList()
          ArrayList<Person> modifiedList = new ArrayList<Person>();
          modifiedList = phoneList;
          return modifiedList;
     }That first line in the method where you create a new ArrayList<Person>() doesn't do anything, since you just point modifiedList to phoneList in the next line anyways. This would do the same thing:
public ArrayList<Person> getList() {
    ArrayList<Person> modifiedList = phoneList;
    return modifiedList;
}Or, looking more closely at what you're doing:
public ArrayList<Person> getList() {
    return phoneList;
}