basically what I'm trying to do is allocate a parametrized type from a generic function:
public < T > T wishful_thinking( )
{
return new T( );
}
Casting doesn't work either, due to "object slicing" (that is, it compiles, but "segfaults"):
public < T > T wishful_thinking( )
{
return ( T )new Object( );
}
So...is there any workaround for this (perhaps using reflection or some such)?
Thanks!
You can't. The solution is to pass a Class object in your method and use reflection to create an instance.
Example without any exception handling:
public <T> T wishful_thinking(Class<T> clazz)
{
return clazz.newInstance();
}
Generics are not reified in Java. Thus, you can't have something like new T(), since T is erased.
The only way to get an object is using Class representation :
public <T> T wishful_thinking( Class<T> classToInstanciate ) throws ...
{
return classToInstanciate.newInstance();
}
