Since Java 8, the answer by @ZouZou using the Collectors.toMap collector is certainly the idiomatic way to solve this problem.
And as this is such a common task, we can make it into a static utility.
That way the solution truly becomes a one-liner.
/**
* Returns a map where each entry is an item of {@code list} mapped by the
* key produced by applying {@code mapper} to the item.
*
* @param list the list to map
* @param mapper the function to produce the key from a list item
* @return the resulting map
* @throws IllegalStateException on duplicate key
*/
public static <K, T> Map<K, T> toMapBy(List<T> list,
Function<? super T, ? extends K> mapper) {
return list.stream().collect(Collectors.toMap(mapper, Function.identity()));
}
And here's how you would use it on a List<Student>:
Map<Long, Student> studentsById = toMapBy(students, Student::getId);