Java Generics Best Practices

Review and improve Java code using comprehensive generics best practices that enforce compile-time type safety and enable flexible, reusable APIs.

What is covered in this Skill?

• Type safety: avoiding raw types, eliminating unsafe casts
• Code reusability: generic methods and types for multiple type contexts
• PECS wildcards: ? extends for producers, ? super for consumers
• Diamond operator for type inference
• Type erasure awareness: type tokens, factory patterns, array creation
• Generic inheritance and variance: invariance, covariance, contravariance
• @SafeVarargs for heap pollution prevention
• Wildcard capture helpers, self-bounded generics (CRTP) for fluent builders
• Proper wildcard API design: Comparator<? super T>, Function<? super T, ? extends R>
• Arrays-vs-generics covariance pitfalls, serialization with TypeReference/TypeToken
• Generic naming conventions (T, E, K/V, ?), typesafe heterogeneous containers
• Integration with Records, sealed types, and pattern matching

Scope: The reference is organized by examples (good/bad code patterns) for each core area. Apply recommendations based on applicable examples.

Constraints

Before applying any generics changes, ensure the project compiles. If compilation fails, stop immediately — do not proceed until resolved. After applying improvements, run full verification.

• MANDATORY: Run ./mvnw compile or mvn compile before applying any change
• SAFETY: If compilation fails, stop immediately and do not proceed — compilation failure is a blocking condition
• VERIFY: Run ./mvnw clean verify or mvn clean verify after applying improvements
• BEFORE APPLYING: Read the reference for detailed examples, good/bad patterns, and constraints
• EDGE CASE: If request scope is ambiguous, stop and ask a clarifying question before applying changes
• EDGE CASE: If required inputs, files, or tooling are missing, report what is missing and ask whether to proceed with setup guidance

When to use this skill

• Improve the code with Generics
• Apply Generics
• Refactor the code with Generics

Workflow

1. Compile project before generics changes

Run ./mvnw compile or mvn compile and stop immediately if compilation fails.

2. Read generics reference and assess type safety

Read references/128-java-generics.md and identify raw types, unsafe casts, wildcard misuse, and API variance opportunities.

3. Apply generics refactorings

Implement selected generic type and API improvements while preserving behavior.

4. Verify with full build

Run ./mvnw clean verify or mvn clean verify after applying improvements.

Reference

For detailed guidance, examples, and constraints, see references/128-java-generics.md.