Java generics why this won't work

Question

I was writing something using generics and to my surprise I found that this doesn't work:

class foo<T>{

 T innerT = new T();

}

So can't I instantiate the genericized type? Aren't there any ways to do this?

Answer 1

At the runtime JVM doesn't know what T is so it can't create new object of type T. Types are erased during compilation.

Answer 2

This is a limitation in the way java implemented generics. To allow compatibility of code using generics with legacy code before generics where added to the language, generics were implemented using type erasure. This causes a lot of confusion to people who come from langauges such as C++ and expect generic's to work in the same way.

To read more on the implications of this here is a good link

Answer 3

Yeah, it's pretty damn annoying.

The work around I use is to force the client to pass the class in when constructing a new foo<T> - i.e.

public foo(class<T> myClass)

Then you can use myClass.newInstance() instead.

Answer 4

I would always prefer a creational pattern (factory, prototype, ...). Especially

public foo(class<T> myClass)

Then you can use myClass.newInstance() instead.

is a bad solution, because T may have no empty constructor.

Answer 5

Workaround

You can use the template type of a class if you subtype it. See my answer to another question.