Java: how can I split an ArrayList in multiple small ArrayLists?

You can use subList(int fromIndex, int toIndex) to get a view of a portion of the original list.

From the API:

Returns a view of the portion of this list between the specified fromIndex, inclusive, and toIndex, exclusive. (If fromIndex and toIndex are equal, the returned list is empty.) The returned list is backed by this list, so non-structural changes in the returned list are reflected in this list, and vice-versa. The returned list supports all of the optional list operations supported by this list.

Example:

List<Integer> numbers = new ArrayList<Integer>(
    Arrays.asList(5,3,1,2,9,5,0,7)
);

List<Integer> head = numbers.subList(0, 4);
List<Integer> tail = numbers.subList(4, 8);
System.out.println(head); // prints "[5, 3, 1, 2]"
System.out.println(tail); // prints "[9, 5, 0, 7]"

Collections.sort(head);
System.out.println(numbers); // prints "[1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 5, 0, 7]"

tail.add(-1);
System.out.println(numbers); // prints "[1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 5, 0, 7, -1]"

If you need these chopped lists to be NOT a view, then simply create a new List from the subList. Here’s an example of putting a few of these things together:

// chops a list into non-view sublists of length L
static <T> List<List<T>> chopped(List<T> list, final int L) {
    List<List<T>> parts = new ArrayList<List<T>>();
    final int N = list.size();
    for (int i = 0; i < N; i += L) {
        parts.add(new ArrayList<T>(
            list.subList(i, Math.min(N, i + L)))
        );
    }
    return parts;
}


List<Integer> numbers = Collections.unmodifiableList(
    Arrays.asList(5,3,1,2,9,5,0,7)
);
List<List<Integer>> parts = chopped(numbers, 3);
System.out.println(parts); // prints "[[5, 3, 1], [2, 9, 5], [0, 7]]"
parts.get(0).add(-1);
System.out.println(parts); // prints "[[5, 3, 1, -1], [2, 9, 5], [0, 7]]"
System.out.println(numbers); // prints "[5, 3, 1, 2, 9, 5, 0, 7]" (unmodified!)