JDK 1.5 Generic Type

1 Template definition

In the diagram above, we find the class template, operation template and operation parameter template. In the class template, “ E ” is a template variable type, which is used in the method add(E) .

We can also find an operation template using a local template variable:

<T> T[] toArray(T[] a);
 

where the variable “ T ” is an operation template variable. It is used in the scope of this method.

2 Template binding

Besides the template definition, it is necessary to show the template utilization relationship, called template binding. In the above diagram, this relationship is shown as an arrow “ E -> ? ”. The first example is the following method:

boolean retainAll(Collection<?> c);
 

The class template variable “ E ” of the collection binds to an unspecified type in the argument for this method.

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