java - Difference between Collections.sort(list) and list.sort(Comparator)

Question

Is there any reason why I should prefer Collections.sort(list) method over simply calling the list.sort()? Internally Collections.sort merely calls the sort method of the List class anyway.

It's just surprising that almost everyone is telling me to use Collections.sort. Why?

Answer 1

The method List.sort(comparator) that you are refering to was introduced in Java 8, whereas the utility method Collections.sort has been there since Java 1.2.

As such, you will find a lot of reference on the Internet mentioning that utility method but that's just because it has been in the JDK for a lot longer.

Note that the change in implementation for Collections.sort was made in 8u20.