Explain Generics and Advantages
Generics in Java is a feature that allows types (classes and interfaces) to be parameterized by other types. It enables you to create classes, interfaces, and methods that operate on different types without specifying the actual type until the code is used. Its provide type safety by detecting type errors at compile time rather than runtime.

Table of Contents
1. Parameterized Types: Generics allow you to define classes, interfaces, and methods with one or more type parameters. These type parameters act as placeholders for actual types that are provided when using the generic type.
2. Type Safety: Its provide compile-time type checking, ensuring that the type constraints are enforced at compile time. This prevents type mismatch errors and ClassCastException at runtime.
3. Code Reusability: Generics promote code reuse by enabling you to write generic algorithms and data structures that can operate on different types. This reduces code duplication and increases maintainability.
4. Elimination of Casting: Its eliminate the need for explicit type casting in code, resulting in cleaner and more readable code.
Advantages of using Generics:
1. Compile-Time Type Safety: Generics provide compile-time type checking, ensuring that type errors are caught at compile time rather than runtime. This helps in detecting errors early in the development process, reducing the likelihood of bugs in production code.
2. Code Reusability and Maintainability: The promote code reuse by allowing you to write generic classes, interfaces, and methods that can work with different types. This reduces code duplication and increases the maintainability of codebases.
3. Elimination of Type Casting: It eliminate the need for explicit type casting in code, leading to cleaner and more readable code. This improves code readability and reduces the risk of runtime errors caused by incorrect type casting.
java
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class GenericsExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create a List of Strings using generics
List<String> stringList = new ArrayList<>();
// Add elements to the List
stringList.add("Java");
stringList.add("Python");
stringList.add("C++");
// Iterate over the List and print each element
for (String str : stringList) {
System.out.println(str);
}
}
}
In this Example
A generic List is created using the ArrayList class. This list can only contain strings, and any attempt to add elements of other types will result in a compile-time error. Generics provide compile-time type safety, ensuring that only elements of the specified type can be added to and retrieved from the list.