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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ia/paper-5/3/a/solution

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Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2007 / ia / Paper 5 / 3 / a / Solution by

Codex  0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14

A generic class, interface or method in Java is parameterized by one or more types. Generics in Java allow one implementation of a collection or algorithm to be reused with different reference types while checking the allowed values and results statically. For example:

Vector<String> names = new Vector<String>();
names.add("Ada");
String first = names.get(0);

class Box<T> {
    private T value;
    public void put(T x) { value = x; }
    public T get() { return value; }
}

The type parameter is declared inside angle brackets, as in Box<T>, and supplied as a type argument, as in Box<String>. A generic method places its parameter list before its return type, for example static <T> T identity(T x). Bounds such as <T extends Number> restrict type arguments, and wildcards such as ? extends Number or ? super Integer describe restricted views. Primitive values require wrapper types such as Integer rather than a type argument int. Generics provide reusable code with compile-time checking of element types.

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