CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javagenericsdiamond-operator
Pieter
Pieter

Reputation: 89

Use of <> in Java generics

Why is it that Java accept below line of code, with <> only being present on the right? The <> signs have no (generics functionality) purpose like this?

List balloons = new ArrayList<>();

So far I only understand the use of <> on the right as shown in below example. Here Java infers the type on the left, so there's no need to specify again on the right and simply <> can be used.

    List<String> balloons = new ArrayList<>();
    balloons.add("blue");
    balloons.add("yellow");
    // balloons.add(1); // will not compile as balloons is type safe, demanding String input
    System.out.println(balloons.get(0));
    System.out.println(balloons.get(1));
    // System.out.println(balloons.get(2));

Upvotes: 2

Views: 62

Answers (1)

Yousaf
Yousaf

Reputation: 29334

List defined as

List balloons = new ArrayList<>();

is a raw type, which means you can store anything in this list.

This

List balloons = new ArrayList<>();

is similar to

List<Object> balloons = new ArrayList<>();

Note: Its important to note that List and List<Object> are similar BUT there are differences between them. See: Java difference between List and List<Object>

Upvotes: 2

Related Questions