Whisper the terrible words type erasure to any moderately experienced Java programmer and you're likely to see:
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- fear
- loathing
- soul-crushing sense of defeat
- all of the above
Stop reading now !
Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.
My own rule of thumb, when confronted by the need to query the identity of K, or V, or T or any of their evil friends, in the innards of a class with generic type parameters, is to run away. Sadly, there are circumstances when that's just not an option. Although I deeply empathise with those who equate Java reflection with incest and folk dancing there are times when it's black magic or nothing. But where to find the magic ?
Enter Richard Gomes and his article: Using TypeTokens to retrieve generic parameters. This demonstrates the seemingly impossible feat of pulling erased rabbits out of Java's hat.
I'm off to try it now... "Nothing up my sleeve..."
