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Generic

The document discusses generic type parameter naming conventions in Java like T, S, U, V, E, K, V, N and also discusses generic methods, wildcards in generics, upper and lower bounded wildcards.

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5 views2 pages

Generic

The document discusses generic type parameter naming conventions in Java like T, S, U, V, E, K, V, N and also discusses generic methods, wildcards in generics, upper and lower bounded wildcards.

Uploaded by

22bmiit190
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Generic type parameter naming convention

 T − Type, and is mainly used to represent first generic type


parameter.
 S − Type, and is mainly used to represent second generic
type parameter.
 U − Type, and is mainly used to represent third generic type
parameter.
 V − Type, and is mainly used to represent fourth generic
type parameter.
 E − Element, and is mainly used by Java Collections
framework.
 K − Key, and is mainly used to represent parameter type of
key of a map.
 V − Value, and is mainly used to represent parameter type
of value of a map.
 N − Number, and is mainly used to represent numbers.

Generic Method
Like the generic class, we can create a generic method that can accept any type of
arguments. Here, the scope of arguments is limited to the method where it is
declared. It allows static as well as non-static methods.

Wildcard in Java Generics


The ? (question mark) symbol represents the wildcard element. It means any type. If
we write <? extends Number>, it means any child class of Number, e.g., Integer,
Float, and double. Now we can call the method of Number class through any child
class object.

We can use a wildcard as a type of a parameter, field, return type, or local


variable. However, it is not allowed to use a wildcard as a type argument for a
generic method invocation, a generic class instance creation, or a supertype.
Wildcards in Generics

The question mark (?) is known as the wildcard in generic programming. It


represents an unknown type. The wildcard can be used in a variety of situations such
as the type of a parameter, field, or local variable; sometimes as a return type. Unlike
arrays, different instantiations of a generic type are not compatible with each other,
not even explicitly. This incompatibility may be softened by the wildcard if ? is used
as an actual type parameter.

Types of wildcards in Java

1. Upper Bounded Wildcards:


These wildcards can be used when you want to relax the restrictions on a variable. For
example, say you want to write a method that works on List < Integer >, List < Double
>, and List < Number >, you can do this using an upper bounded wildcard.
To declare an upper-bounded wildcard, use the wildcard character (‘?’), followed by
the extends keyword, followed by its upper bound.
2. Lower Bounded Wildcards:
It is expressed using the wildcard character (‘?’), followed by the super
keyword, followed by its lower bound: <? super A>.

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