Java map with values limited by key's type parameter

Question

Is there a way in Java to have a map where the type parameter of a value is tied to the type parameter of a key? What I want to write is something like the following:

public class Foo {
    // This declaration won't compile - what should it be?
    private static Map<Class<T>, T> defaultValues;

    // These two methods are just fine
    public static <T> void setDefaultValue(Class<T> clazz, T value) {
        defaultValues.put(clazz, value);
    }

    public static <T> T getDefaultValue(Class<T> clazz) {
        return defaultValues.get(clazz);
    }
}

That is, I can store any default value against a Class object, provided the value's type matches that of the Class object. I don't see why this shouldn't be allowed since I can ensure when setting/getting values that the types are correct.

EDIT: Thanks to cletus for his answer. I don't actually need the type parameters on the map itself since I can ensure consistency in the methods which get/set values, even if it means using some slightly ugly casts.

Answer 1

No, you can't do it directly. You'll need to write a wrapper class around Map<Class, Object> to enforce that Object will be instanceof Class.

Answer 2

T as a type must be defined generically in the class instance. The following example works:

public class Test<T> {

    private Map<Class<T>, T> defaultValues;

    public void setDefaultValue(Class<T> clazz, T value) {
        defaultValues.put(clazz, value);
    }

    public T getDefaultValue(Class<T> clazz) {
        return defaultValues.get(clazz);
    }

}

Alternatively, you can use Paul Tomblin's answer, and wrap the Map with your own object which will enforce this type of generics.

Answer 3

You're not trying to implement Joshua Bloch's typesafe hetereogeneous container pattern are you? Basically:

public class Favorites {
  private Map<Class<?>, Object> favorites =
    new HashMap<Class<?>, Object>();

  public <T> void setFavorite(Class<T> klass, T thing) {
    favorites.put(klass, thing);
  }

  public <T> T getFavorite(Class<T> klass) {
    return klass.cast(favorites.get(klass));
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Favorites f = new Favorites();
    f.setFavorite(String.class, "Java");
    f.setFavorite(Integer.class, 0xcafebabe);
    String s = f.getFavorite(String.class);
    int i = f.getFavorite(Integer.class);
  }
}

From Effective Java (2nd edition) and this presentation.

Answer 4

This question has an accepted answer, but here's a tutorial on generics: PDF

...which can be found at the bottom of this page: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/generics.html

Answer 5

The question and the answers made me come up with this solution: Type-safe object map. Here is the code. Test case:

import static org.junit.Assert.*;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

import org.junit.Test;


public class TypedMapTest {
    private final static TypedMapKey<String> KEY1 = new TypedMapKey<String>( "key1" );
    private final static TypedMapKey<List<String>> KEY2 = new TypedMapKey<List<String>>( "key2" );

    @Test
    public void testGet() throws Exception {

        TypedMap map = new TypedMap();
        map.set( KEY1, null );
        assertNull( map.get( KEY1 ) );

        String expected = "Hallo";
        map.set( KEY1, expected );
        String value = map.get( KEY1 );
        assertEquals( expected, value );

        map.set( KEY2, null );
        assertNull( map.get( KEY2 ) );

        List<String> list = new ArrayList<String> ();
        map.set( KEY2, list );
        List<String> valueList = map.get( KEY2 );
        assertEquals( list, valueList );
    }
}

Key class:

public class TypedMapKey<T> {
    private String key;

    public TypedMapKey( String key ) {
        this.key = key;
    }

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        final int prime = 31;
        int result = 1;
        result = prime * result + ( ( key == null ) ? 0 : key.hashCode() );
        return result;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals( Object obj ) {
        if( this == obj ) {
            return true;
        }
        if( obj == null ) {
            return false;
        }
        if( getClass() != obj.getClass() ) {
            return false;
        }
        TypedMapKey<?> other = (TypedMapKey<?>) obj;
        if( key == null ) {
            if( other.key != null ) {
                return false;
            }
        } else if( !key.equals( other.key ) ) {
            return false;
        }
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return key;
    }
}

TypedMap.java:

import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Set;

public class TypedMap implements Map<Object, Object> {
    private Map<Object, Object> delegate;

    public TypedMap( Map<Object, Object> delegate ) {
        this.delegate = delegate;
    }

    public TypedMap() {
        this.delegate = new HashMap<Object, Object>();
    }

    @SuppressWarnings( "unchecked" )
    public <T> T get( TypedMapKey<T> key ) {
        return (T) delegate.get( key );
    }

    @SuppressWarnings( "unchecked" )
    public <T> T remove( TypedMapKey<T> key ) {
        return (T) delegate.remove( key );
    }

    public <T> void set( TypedMapKey<T> key, T value ) {
        delegate.put( key, value );
    }

    // --- Only calls to delegates below

    public void clear() {
        delegate.clear();
    }

    public boolean containsKey( Object key ) {
        return delegate.containsKey( key );
    }

    public boolean containsValue( Object value ) {
        return delegate.containsValue( value );
    }

    public Set<java.util.Map.Entry<Object, Object>> entrySet() {
        return delegate.entrySet();
    }

    public boolean equals( Object o ) {
        return delegate.equals( o );
    }

    public Object get( Object key ) {
        return delegate.get( key );
    }

    public int hashCode() {
        return delegate.hashCode();
    }

    public boolean isEmpty() {
        return delegate.isEmpty();
    }

    public Set<Object> keySet() {
        return delegate.keySet();
    }

    public Object put( Object key, Object value ) {
        return delegate.put( key, value );
    }

    public void putAll( Map<? extends Object, ? extends Object> m ) {
        delegate.putAll( m );
    }

    public Object remove( Object key ) {
        return delegate.remove( key );
    }

    public int size() {
        return delegate.size();
    }

    public Collection<Object> values() {
        return delegate.values();
    }

}