Generics: Polymorphism with generics

[sai rama krishna]

Hi,

I was reading below link and was not clear on below commented portion of questions in bold

So what does it mean ?

The statement List<? extends Vehicle> means that you can pass any type of list that subtype of List and which is typed as Vehicle or some subtype of Vehicle. But you cannot add anything into the collection at all.

Now what is that? Why can’t we add anything into the collection?

(//which collection vehicle or bike or car???)


Lets consider this.



public void addVehicle(List<? extends Vehicle> vehicles){
vehicles.add(new Car());
}
The compiler stops you at the very moment. It doesn’t allow you to add anything while using ? extends. Why is that?

? extends allows us to pass any collection that is subytype of the method parameter which is typed as generic type of subtype of the generic type. i.e. we can pass an ArrayList<Vehicle> , ArrayList<Bike> or ArrayList<Car> to it.
But consider a scenario in which we are passing ArrayList<Bike> to addVehicle(List<? extends Vehicle>). In that case, if compiler didn’t stop us

(//i do not think compiler stopping right ??it is allowing vehicle, car, bike all 3 in case of extends???)


from adding into the collection, we would have added a Car into ArrayList<Bike>.
This is the scenario so ? extends doesn’t allow you to add into collection.
(//i thought we chose extends approach to allow vehicle and its subclasses right..i think compile time...but at run time type erasure kicks in which is bit unclear???)

But there is also a workaround for this. We can also pass a subtype collection and still be able to add into collection. We have to use the super keyword along with wildcard operator
//does it means we should always use super since extends has issues. Super is only for bike and its super classes right...it wont deal with subclasses at all??

i am bit confused here. Please advise

[Henry Wong]

To start, Wildcards and Polymorphism are not the same here.

List<? extends Vehicle> means a list that can be List<Car>, List<Train>, List<Truck>, etc. etc. etc., but the compiler has no idea what the generic type is. It is *not* a list that can take anything that extends Vehicle !!

Henry

[sai rama krishna]

It is *not* a list that can take anything that extends Vehicle !!

does not it takes bike, vehicle and also car here. I got super concept clear but not this extends concept w.r.t generics. Please advise

We will change the method to


1
2
3

public void addVehicle(List<? extends Vehicle> vehicles){
       // some code here
} 

After doing this,


1
2
3
mechanic.addVehicle(vehicles); // compiles fine
mechanic.addVehicle(bikes); // compiles fine
mechanic.addVehicle(cars); // compiles fine
So what does it mean ?

The statement List<? extends Vehicle> means that you can pass any type of list that subtype of List and which is typed as Vehicle or some subtype of Vehicle. But you cannot add anything into the collection at all.

i did not understand last sentence above like

But you cannot add anything into the collection at all.

everything is compiling fine though right as below which means it should also add right

mechanic.addVehicle(vehicles); // compiles fine
mechanic.addVehicle(bikes); // compiles fine
mechanic.addVehicle(cars); // compiles fine

Any good links, examples around these topics. Please advise

[Campbell Ritchie]

What does 1 2 3 mean? Don't try to add line numbers, because the code tags do so automatically.

You can have an add method and there is no way the compiler can know that you want to add anything to the List. It is only when you try to add something to the List with bikes.add(new Bike()); that there could be any confusion.

[sai rama krishna]

1 2 3 is accident in copy paste.

Java


public void addVehicle(List<? extends Vehicle> vehicles){//this line is fine
	vehicles.add(new Car());//but this line leads to class cast exception?
        vehicles.add(new Bike());//but this line leads to class cast exception?
}

Please advise

[Campbell Ritchie]

Please show us the error messages.

[sai rama krishna]

When my code is as below

package com.thejavageek.generics;

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

public class Mechanic {

	public void addVehicle(List<Vehicle> vehicles) {

		//
	}

	public static void main(String[] args) {

List<Vehicle> vehicles = new ArrayList<Vehicle>();
vehicles.add(new Vehicle());
vehicles.add(new Vehicle());

List<Bike> bikes = new ArrayList<Bike>();
bikes.add(new Bike());
bikes.add(new Bike());

List<Car> cars = new ArrayList<Car>();
cars.add(new Car());
cars.add(new Car());
Mechanic mechanic = new Mechanic();

mechanic.addVehicle(vehicles); // compiles fine
mechanic.addVehicle(bikes);    // compilation fails
mechanic.addVehicle(cars);     // compilation fails

    }
}

package com.thejavageek.generics;

public class Vehicle {

	public void service() {
		System.out.println("Generic vehicle servicing");
	}

}

package com.thejavageek.generics;

public class Bike extends Vehicle {
	@Override
	public void service(){
		System.out.println("Bike specific servicing");
	}
}

package com.thejavageek.generics;

public class Car extends Vehicle {

	@Override
	public void service() {
		System.out.println("Car specific servicing");
	}

}

I get below error at line 29 of Mechanic class

The method addVehicle(List<Vehicle>) in the type Mechanic is not applicable for the arguments (List<Bike>)

[Henry Wong]

sai rama krishna wrote:
The method addVehicle(List<Vehicle>) in the type Mechanic is not applicable for the arguments (List<Bike>)

Your method expects a List<Vehicle>. You passed it a List<Bike>, which of course, is not what it wants.

Henry

[sai rama krishna]

after changing to extends approach as below

package com.thejavageek.generics;

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

public class Mechanic {

//	public void addVehicle(List<Vehicle> vehicles) {

		//
	public void addVehicle(List<? extends Vehicle> vehicles){
	       // some code here
	
	}

	public static void main(String[] args) {

List<Vehicle> vehicles = new ArrayList<Vehicle>();
vehicles.add(new Vehicle());
vehicles.add(new Vehicle());

List<Bike> bikes = new ArrayList<Bike>();
bikes.add(new Bike());
bikes.add(new Bike());

List<Car> cars = new ArrayList<Car>();
cars.add(new Car());
cars.add(new Car());
Mechanic mechanic = new Mechanic();

mechanic.addVehicle(vehicles); // compiles fine
mechanic.addVehicle(bikes);    // compilation fails
mechanic.addVehicle(cars);     // compilation fails

    }
}

i am getting below error at line 33 of Mechanic class which does not make sense to me.

Syntax error, insert ";" to complete Statement


i also see some weird issues when i copy paste the code and format it it is giving red lines. when i remove the space at the front of line that error is going away from eclipse. I never saw this kind of space or format error before.

[Campbell Ritchie]

I tried your code at the command line and got no such compiler error.

[sai rama krishna]

when i tried to compile from command line i see below 100 errors

áá á}
 ^
Bike.java:22: illegal character: \160
áá á}
   ^
Bike.java:26: illegal character: \160
áá á}
^
Bike.java:26: illegal character: \160
áá á}
 ^
Bike.java:26: illegal character: \160
áá á}
   ^
Bike.java:31: illegal character: \160
áá á}
^
Bike.java:31: illegal character: \160
áá á}
 ^
Bike.java:31: illegal character: \160
áá á}
   ^
Bike.java:33: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic int getEngineCapacity() {
^
Bike.java:33: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic int getEngineCapacity() {
 ^
Bike.java:33: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic int getEngineCapacity() {
   ^
Bike.java:33: <identifier> expected
áá ápublic int getEngineCapacity() {
    ^
Bike.java:33: ';' expected
áá ápublic int getEngineCapacity() {
          ^
Bike.java:33: invalid method declaration; return type required
áá ápublic int getEngineCapacity() {
               ^
Bike.java:34: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
^
Bike.java:34: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
 ^
Bike.java:34: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
   ^
Bike.java:34: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
    ^
Bike.java:34: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
     ^
Bike.java:34: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
       ^
Bike.java:34: ';' expected
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
        ^
Bike.java:34: not a statement
áá ááá áreturn engineCapacity;
               ^
Bike.java:35: illegal character: \160
áá á}
^
Bike.java:35: illegal character: \160
áá á}
 ^
Bike.java:35: illegal character: \160
áá á}
   ^
Bike.java:37: illegal character: \160
áá á@XmlElement
^
Bike.java:37: illegal character: \160
áá á@XmlElement
 ^
Bike.java:37: illegal character: \160
áá á@XmlElement
   ^
Bike.java:37: <identifier> expected
áá á@XmlElement
    ^
Bike.java:37: ';' expected
áá á@XmlElement
     ^
Bike.java:38: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic void setEngineCapacity(int engineCapacity) {
^
Bike.java:38: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic void setEngineCapacity(int engineCapacity) {
 ^
Bike.java:38: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic void setEngineCapacity(int engineCapacity) {
   ^
Bike.java:39: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
^
Bike.java:39: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
 ^
Bike.java:39: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
   ^
Bike.java:39: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
    ^
Bike.java:39: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
     ^
Bike.java:39: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
       ^
Bike.java:39: ';' expected
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
        ^
Bike.java:39: illegal start of expression
áá ááá áthis.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
            ^
Bike.java:40: illegal character: \160
áá á}
^
Bike.java:40: illegal character: \160
áá á}
 ^
Bike.java:40: illegal character: \160
áá á}
   ^
Bike.java:42: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic int getVin() {
^
Bike.java:42: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic int getVin() {
 ^
Bike.java:42: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic int getVin() {
   ^
Bike.java:42: <identifier> expected
áá ápublic int getVin() {
    ^
Bike.java:42: ';' expected
áá ápublic int getVin() {
          ^
Bike.java:42: invalid method declaration; return type required
áá ápublic int getVin() {
               ^
Bike.java:43: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn vin;
^
Bike.java:43: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn vin;
 ^
Bike.java:43: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn vin;
   ^
Bike.java:43: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn vin;
    ^
Bike.java:43: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn vin;
     ^
Bike.java:43: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn vin;
       ^
Bike.java:43: ';' expected
áá ááá áreturn vin;
        ^
Bike.java:43: not a statement
áá ááá áreturn vin;
               ^
Bike.java:44: illegal character: \160
áá á}
^
Bike.java:44: illegal character: \160
áá á}
 ^
Bike.java:44: illegal character: \160
áá á}
   ^
Bike.java:46: illegal character: \160
áá á@XmlAttribute
^
Bike.java:46: illegal character: \160
áá á@XmlAttribute
 ^
Bike.java:46: illegal character: \160
áá á@XmlAttribute
   ^
Bike.java:46: <identifier> expected
áá á@XmlAttribute
    ^
Bike.java:46: ';' expected
áá á@XmlAttribute
     ^
Bike.java:47: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic void setVin(int vin) {
^
Bike.java:47: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic void setVin(int vin) {
 ^
Bike.java:47: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic void setVin(int vin) {
   ^
Bike.java:48: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
^
Bike.java:48: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
 ^
Bike.java:48: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
   ^
Bike.java:48: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
    ^
Bike.java:48: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
     ^
Bike.java:48: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
       ^
Bike.java:48: ';' expected
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
        ^
Bike.java:48: illegal start of expression
áá ááá áthis.vin = vin;
            ^
Bike.java:49: illegal character: \160
áá á}
^
Bike.java:49: illegal character: \160
áá á}
 ^
Bike.java:49: illegal character: \160
áá á}
   ^
Bike.java:51: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic String toString() {
^
Bike.java:51: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic String toString() {
 ^
Bike.java:51: illegal character: \160
áá ápublic String toString() {
   ^
Bike.java:51: <identifier> expected
áá ápublic String toString() {
    ^
Bike.java:51: ';' expected
áá ápublic String toString() {
          ^
Bike.java:51: invalid method declaration; return type required
áá ápublic String toString() {
                  ^
Bike.java:52: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
^
Bike.java:52: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
 ^
Bike.java:52: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
   ^
Bike.java:52: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
    ^
Bike.java:52: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
     ^
Bike.java:52: illegal character: \160
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
       ^
Bike.java:52: ';' expected
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
        ^
Bike.java:53: illegal character: \160
áá ááá ááá ááá á+ ", vin=" + vin + "]";
^
Bike.java:52: not a statement
áá ááá áreturn "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
                                                            ^
Bike.java:53: illegal character: \160
áá ááá ááá ááá á+ ", vin=" + vin + "]";
 ^
Bike.java:53: illegal character: \160
áá ááá ááá ááá á+ ", vin=" + vin + "]";
   ^
Bike.java:53: illegal character: \160
áá ááá ááá ááá á+ ", vin=" + vin + "]";
    ^
Bike.java:53: illegal character: \160
áá ááá ááá ááá á+ ", vin=" + vin + "]";
     ^
100 errors

[sai rama krishna]

when i removed every single space in front eclipse i happy.

package com.thejavageek.jaxb;

import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAttribute;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlElement;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlRootElement;

@XmlRootElement(name = "bike")
public class Bike {

String color;
int engineCapacity;
int vin;

public Bike() {

}

public Bike(int vin, int engineCapacity, String color) {
this.vin = vin;
this.engineCapacity = engineCapacity;
this.color = color;
}

public String getColor() {
return color;
}

@XmlElement
public void setColor(String color) {
this.color = color;
}

public int getEngineCapacity() {
return engineCapacity;
}


@XmlElement
public void setEngineCapacity(int engineCapacity) {
	this.engineCapacity=engineCapacity;
}

public int getVin() {
return vin;
}

@XmlAttribute
public void setVin(int vin) {
this.vin = vin;
}

public String toString() {
return "Bike [color=" + color + ", engineCapacity=" + engineCapacity
+ ", vin=" + vin + "]";
}

}

[Campbell Ritchie]

Why did you remove all those spaces? Did you not try to find out what \160 means? 160 in octal is p and 160 in hex is Š, but 160 in decimal is \u00a0 which appears to be non‑breaking space. You can usually only get such characters into your code if you use a word processor. I don't know how you got á printed out.
Don't use word processors for programming because the can add such strange characters.

[sai rama krishna]

In that website above code there are different options to copy code. Simple copy option is messing the code as above. when i selected 'new window java' then code is good without special spaces etc. But only thing is numbers ccoming at top which i can delete easily

[Campbell Ritchie]

What website above? I didn't think we had such problems on this website.

Don't use online compilers.