Get generic type of java.util.List

Question

I have;

List<String> stringList = new ArrayList<String>();
List<Integer> integerList = new ArrayList<Integer>();

Is there a (easy) way to retrieve the generic type of the list?

Answer 1

If those are actually fields of a certain class, then you can get them with a little help of reflection:

package test;

import java.lang.reflect.Field;
import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class Test {

    List<String> stringList = new ArrayList<String>();
    List<Integer> integerList = new ArrayList<Integer>();

    public static void main(String... args) throws Exception {
        Field stringListField = Test.class.getDeclaredField("stringList");
        ParameterizedType stringListType = (ParameterizedType) stringListField.getGenericType();
        Class<?> stringListClass = (Class<?>) stringListType.getActualTypeArguments()[0];
        System.out.println(stringListClass); // class java.lang.String.

        Field integerListField = Test.class.getDeclaredField("integerList");
        ParameterizedType integerListType = (ParameterizedType) integerListField.getGenericType();
        Class<?> integerListClass = (Class<?>) integerListType.getActualTypeArguments()[0];
        System.out.println(integerListClass); // class java.lang.Integer.
    }
}

You can also do that for parameter types and return type of methods.

But if they're inside the same scope of the class/method where you need to know about them, then there's no point of knowing them, because you already have declared them yourself.

Answer 2

Expanding on Steve K's answer:

/** 
* Performs a forced cast.  
* Returns null if the collection type does not match the items in the list.
* @param data The list to cast.
* @param listType The type of list to cast to.
*/
static <T> List<? super T> castListSafe(List<?> data, Class<T> listType){
    List<T> retval = null;
    //This test could be skipped if you trust the callers, but it wouldn't be safe then.
    if(data!=null && !data.isEmpty() && listType.isInstance(data.iterator().next().getClass())) {
        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")//It's OK, we know List<T> contains the expected type.
        List<T> foo = (List<T>)data;
        return retval;
    }
    return retval;
}
Usage:

protected WhateverClass add(List<?> data) {//For fluant useage
    if(data==null) || data.isEmpty(){
       throw new IllegalArgumentException("add() " + data==null?"null":"empty" 
       + " collection");
    }
    Class<?> colType = data.iterator().next().getClass();//Something
    aMethod(castListSafe(data, colType));
}

aMethod(List<Foo> foo){
   for(Foo foo: List){
      System.out.println(Foo);
   }
}

aMethod(List<Bar> bar){
   for(Bar bar: List){
      System.out.println(Bar);
   }
}

Answer 3

Had the same problem, but I used instanceof instead. Did it this way:

List<Object> listCheck = (List<Object>)(Object) stringList;
    if (!listCheck.isEmpty()) {
       if (listCheck.get(0) instanceof String) {
           System.out.println("List type is String");
       }
       if (listCheck.get(0) instanceof Integer) {
           System.out.println("List type is Integer");
       }
    }
}

This involves using unchecked casts so only do this when you know it is a list, and what type it can be.

Answer 4

import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;

import java.lang.reflect.Field;
import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.List;

public class GenericTypeOfCollectionTest {
    public class FormBean {
    }

    public class MyClazz {
        private List<FormBean> list = new ArrayList<FormBean>();
    }

    @Test
    public void testName() throws Exception {
        Field[] fields = MyClazz.class.getFields();
        for (Field field : fields) {
            //1. Check if field is of Collection Type
            if (Collection.class.isAssignableFrom(field.getType())) {
                //2. Get Generic type of your field
                Class fieldGenericType = getFieldGenericType(field);
                //3. Compare with <FromBean>
                Assert.assertTrue("List<FormBean>",
                  FormBean.class.isAssignableFrom(getFieldGenericTypefieldGenericType));
            }
        }
    }

    //Returns generic type of any field
    public Class getFieldGenericType(Field field) {
        if (ParameterizedType.class.isAssignableFrom(field.getGenericType().getClass())) {
            ParameterizedType genericType =
             (ParameterizedType) field.getGenericType();
            return ((Class)
              (genericType.getActualTypeArguments()[0])).getSuperclass();
        }
        //Returns dummy Boolean Class to compare with ValueObject & FormBean
        return new Boolean(false).getClass();
    }
}

Answer 5

Use Reflection to get the Field for these then you can just do: field.genericType to get the type that contains the information about generic as well.

Answer 6

Short answer: no.

This is probably a duplicate, can't find an appropriate one right now.

Java uses something called type erasure, which means at runtime both objects are equivalent. The compiler knows the lists contain integers or strings, and as such can maintain a type safe environment. This information is lost (on an object instance basis) at runtime, and the list only contain 'Objects'.

You CAN find out a little about the class, what types it might be parametrized by, but normally this is just anything that extends "Object", i.e. anything. If you define a type as

class <A extends MyClass> AClass {....}

AClass.class will only contain the fact that the parameter A is bounded by MyClass, but more than that, there's no way to tell.