Wildcards in generics provide flexibility by allowing unknown types in Java. 1. Upper-bounded wildcards ( extends T>) enable reading from a structure with subtypes of T. 2. Lower-bounded wildcards ( super T>) allow writing elements of type T into a structure with supertypes of T. 3. Unbounded wildcards (>) are used when the type is irrelevant, supporting all parameterized types. These wildcards ensure compile-time type safety while enabling generic code reuse, particularly useful in collections, following best practices like the PECS rule and avoiding unnecessary complexity.
Wildcards in generics are a feature in Java (and some other languages with similar type systems) that allow you to use an unknown type in generic code. They’re represented by the question mark ?
, and they help make your code more flexible when dealing with different generic types.
When to Use Wildcards
You typically reach for wildcards when you want to write methods or variables that can work with multiple parameterized types, without knowing or caring exactly what that type is.
For example, if you have a method that takes a List<number></number>
, it won’t accept a List<integer></integer>
— even though Integer
is a subclass of Number
. That’s where wildcards come in handy.
Bounded Wildcards: Upper and Lower Bounds
There are two main kinds of bounded wildcards:
-
Upper-bounded wildcard (
extends T>
)
This means the unknown type is a subtype ofT
. It's useful when you want to read items from a structure but not write to it.Example:
List<? extends Number> numbers = new ArrayList<Integer>();
You can get elements out as
Number
, but you can't add anything exceptnull
to the list — because the compiler doesn’t know the exact type. Lower-bounded wildcard (
<? super T>
)
This means the unknown type is a supertype ofT
. It's good when you need to put elements into a structure, but not so much for reading them out in a type-safe way.Example:
List<? super Integer> list = new ArrayList<Number>();
Here, you can safely add
Integer
values to the list, but if you read from it, you’ll only know it's anObject
.
Use these bounds depending on whether you're primarily reading from or writing to the collection.
Unbounded Wildcards: Just <?>
If you don’t care at all about the type, and just need to refer to a generic structure regardless of its parameter, you can use <?>
.
Example:
public void printListSize(List<?> list) { System.out.println("List size: " list.size()); }
This method works for any kind of List
, like List<string></string>
, List<double></double>
, etc. But again, you can't add anything (except null
) to the list inside this method.
Unbounded wildcards are most useful when the method doesn’t need to interact with the actual contents beyond basic operations like checking size or looping through elements.
Best Practices and Common Mistakes
Here are a few things to keep in mind when using wildcards:
PECS Rule: Think “Producer Extends, Consumer Super” — if something produces elements (you read from it), use
extends
. If it consumes elements (you write to it), usesuper
.Don't overuse wildcards where a concrete type would suffice. It can make code harder to understand.
Be careful mixing wildcards with return types or variables that need to be used later — sometimes type inference gets tricky.
Avoid nested wildcards like
List extends List>>
unless absolutely necessary — readability drops quickly.
Wildcards in generics give you flexibility when working with collections and other generic types. They let you abstract away specific types while still keeping compile-time safety. Once you get used to the patterns, especially PECS, they become a natural part of writing reusable generic code.
Basically, use them when you need to handle generic types more loosely — but don’t go overboard.
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