What is the <T> in Cast<T>() or List<T> in C#

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+2 Q:

What is the <T> in Cast<T>() or List<T> in C#

I know this is probably a dupe, but I can't for the life of me remember what the name is or even how to look it up.

I know T would the the Type you are casting to, but what is the technical name of it.

Edit Here is a link for more information on Generics

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/99686/why-do-c-and-vb-have-generics-what-benefit-do-they-provide-generics-ftw

+11 A:

Generic Type Parameter, I think.

Greg 2010-05-03 22:03:09

Come on Greg, say it with confidence!

BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft 2010-05-03 22:04:39

Thank you! Didn't think to add generics in with my Google search.

Jeremy 2010-05-03 22:11:46

@BlueRaja: lol, thanks!

Greg 2010-05-04 02:26:46

I always thought it was "T" for Template.

Generics, I believe is the C# implementation of C++ templates.

Steven Dorfmeister 2010-05-03 22:06:21

Actually, no. Generics is the C# implementation of parameterized types. Templates is the C++ implementation of parameterized types. FYI, Managed C++ implements both.

John Saunders 2010-05-03 22:08:23

`T` is generally 'type' or 'typename' (from C++ parlance), not 'template'. `U` and `V` are commonly used has +1's like `h` and `j` are used as +1's for `i` as 'increment'. As @John briefly mentions, generics (.Net) and templates (C++) are similar, but not the same. Generics must be verifiable at compile time, whilst templates are not verifiable until instantiation. This is an important distinction because .Net does not have headers, a generic defined in a base assembly must be compilable into IL code to be stored into the assembly for later use by dependent assemblies.

Nathan Ernst 2010-05-03 22:55:47

For the record: templates and generics are aesthetically similar, but in practice very different.

BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft 2010-05-04 02:52:45

ansaurus

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What is the <T> in Cast<T>() or List<T> in C#

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