Can I use an variable in a generic declaration in Java?

Question

Here is my generic class:

class MultiType<T> {
    private T value;

    MultiType(T value) {
        this.value = value;
    }

    T get() {
        return value;
    }
}

At the moment, I can obviously invoke it with:

MultiType multi = new MultiType<Integer>(0);

Or:

MultiType multi = new MultiType<String>("Hello, World");

However, I want to know if the type can be dynamically set by a variable. I know the below doesn't work, but something along the lines of that is what I am looking for:

Class strType = "".getClass();
MultiType multi = new MultiType<strType>("Hello, World");

Thanks in advance.

Please search before asking. It's been answered already, eg. [Dynamic Generic Typing in Java](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7342035/dynamic-generic-typing-in-java) — Konrad Morawski, Apr 21 '16 at 10:02

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 21 '16 at 10:03

0

At least in Java, generics are a compile-time feature. What you want to achieve is dynamic (runtime) generics, which is thus impossible.

answered Apr 21 '16 at 10:03

Timmos

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This is not entirely true. Generic declarations and their type erasure can be analyzed at runtime, however, instances of generic types can not be checked for their generic type at runtime. – Sean Patrick Floyd Apr 21 '16 at 10:29

Can I use an variable in a generic declaration in Java?

1 Answers1