Convert an ArrayList to an object array

You can use this code

ArrayList<TypeA> a = new ArrayList<TypeA>();
Object[] o = a.toArray();

Then if you want that to get that object back into TypeA just check it with instanceOf method.

Something like the standard Collection.toArray(T[]) should do what you need (note that ArrayList implements Collection):

TypeA[] array = a.toArray(new TypeA[a.size()]);

On a side note, you should consider defining a to be of type List<TypeA> rather than ArrayList<TypeA>, this avoid some implementation specific definition that may not really be applicable for your application.

Also, please see this question about the use of a.size() instead of 0 as the size of the array passed to a.toArray(TypeA[])