generic methods in java tutorial code example

Example 1: generics Interface in java

/*We can define our own classes with generics type. A generic type is a class or interface that is parameterized over types. We use angle brackets (<>) to specify the type parameter.

To understand the benefit, let’s say we have a simple class as:*/
package com.journaldev.generics;

public class GenericsTypeOld {

	private Object t;

	public Object get() {
		return t;
	}

	public void set(Object t) {
		this.t = t;
	}

        public static void main(String args[]){
		GenericsTypeOld type = new GenericsTypeOld();
		type.set("Pankaj"); 
		String str = (String) type.get(); //type casting, error prone and can cause ClassCastException
	}
}

Example 2: generics Interface in java

/*We know that Java inheritance allows us to assign a variable A to another variable B if A is subclass of B. So we might think that any generic type of A can be assigned to generic type of B, but it’s not the case. Let’s see this with a simple program.

We are not allowed to assign MyClass<String> variable to MyClass<Object> variable because they are not related, in fact MyClass<T> parent is Object.*/
package com.journaldev.generics;

public class GenericsInheritance {

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		String str = "abc";
		Object obj = new Object();
		obj=str; // works because String is-a Object, inheritance in java
		
		MyClass<String> myClass1 = new MyClass<String>();
		MyClass<Object> myClass2 = new MyClass<Object>();
		//myClass2=myClass1; // compilation error since MyClass<String> is not a MyClass<Object>
		obj = myClass1; // MyClass<T> parent is Object
	}
	
	public static class MyClass<T>{}

}