I have a problem with my Java remove method

As an assignment, I have to write my own Java remove method that removes an element of the specified index from the list using node. This code was taken from the time I had C# class and it didn't have the index parameter so I had to implement it here.

So this code actually removes the specified element but it also removes top elements too which is the main problem.

Exemple:

 1| ========Inital list=======
 2|   0:  S763   ring       item      1964        1999   258.61 
 3|   1:  P365   textbook   book      1936        2001    64.96 
 4|   2:  G965   forest     photo     1929        2014    30.34 
 5|   3:  K637   diary      journal   1929        1998    98.68 
 6|   4:  L161   girl       photo     1903        1995    54.73 
 7| ======== End of the list =======
 8| ========Testing remove at index 3=======
 9|   0:  G965   forest     photo     1929        2014    30.34 
10|   1:  L161   girl       photo     1903        1995    54.73 
11| ======== End of the list =======

As you can see it did remove the element at index 3 but it also removed elements at index 0 and 1.

Here is the Remove code:

        public E remove(int ind)
        {            
            current = first.findNode(ind);
         
            if (first == null) return current.element;
                        
            if (first == current)
            {
                first = current.next;
                size--;
                return current.element;
            }
           
            while (first.next != null)
            {
                if (first.next == current)
                {
                    first.next = first.next.next;
                    return current.element;
                }

                first = first.next;
            }
            
            size--;
            return current.element;
        }

I imagine the problem is in the while loop but I don't know how to change it anymore. Your help will be appreciated a lot.

At the very top of your code, you have:

current = first.findNode(ind);     
if (first == null) return current.element;

In the second line, if first was indeed null, then the program would have crashed with a null reference exception in the first line! How can you call findNode() against a null reference?

Furthermore, if first was null, what would current be pointing to? Wouldn't it be null as well? I'm assuming that first points to the very first node in your list, and if first is null then your list must be EMPTY?...

I believe your program is going to not handle an empty list very gracefully.

The problem with your while loop is that YOU ARE CHANGING first as you walk the list.

Make a temporary, local variable that points to first, and then change that so that your first will still point to the first element:

Node temp = first; // <-- I don't know the TYPE of your node class here
while (temp.next != null)
{
	if (temp.next == current)
	{
		temp.next = current.next;
		break;
	}
	temp = temp.next;
}
size--;
return current.element;

Note that instead of returning from the middle of the loop, I'm calling break; to drop out of the loop. Down below we'll then correctly decrement the size of the list and return the value. I also changed from temp.next.next to current.next. Same thing, but it makes more "sense" to me.

Also, there is no error checking being done on the ind value. What if it is negative, or is too big for the list?