Java Generics is one of the MOST important Java concepts.

If you understand Generics properly:

collections become safer

code becomes reusable

compile-time bugs reduce dramatically

A generic type is a generic class or interface that is parameterized over types.

What Are Generics?

Generics allow classes, interfaces, and methods to work with:

different data types safely

without rewriting code.

The Diamond

In Java SE 7 and later, you can replace the type arguments required to invoke the constructor of a generic class with an empty set of type arguments (<>) as long as the compiler can determine, or infer, the type arguments from the context. This pair of angle brackets, <>, is informally called the diamond. For example, you can create an instance of Box with the following

statement:

Box < Integer > integerBox = new Box <>();

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Generic Class

class Box < T > { T value ; void set ( T value ) { this .…