java 实现协方差_Java协方差

I'm having a hard time trying to figure this out. Say I have the following code:

class Animal { }

class Mammal extends Animal { }

class Giraffe extends Mammal { }

...

public static List extends Mammal> getMammals() { return ...; }

...

public static void main(String[] args) {

List mammals = getMammals(); // compilation error

}

Why does the assignment result in a compilation error? The error is something like:

Type mismatch: cannot convert from List to List

According to my understanding of covariance, the getMammals() method returns a list that will always contain Mammal objects so it should be assignable. What am I missing?

解决方案

Because getMammals could return a List, and if that was convertable to List then you'd be able to add a Zebra to it. You can't be allowed to add a Zebra to a list of Giraffe, can you?

class Zebra extends Mammal { }

List giraffes = new List();

List mammals = giraffes; // not allowed

mammals.add(new Zebra()); // would add a Zebra to a list of Giraffes