Get generic type of class at runtime

java generics reflection
Glenn picture Glenn · Aug 4, 2010 · Viewed 615.6k times · Source

How can I achieve this?

public class GenericClass<T>
{
    public Type getMyType()
    {
        //How do I return the type of T?
    }
}

Everything I have tried so far always returns type Object rather than the specific type used.

Answer

Henning picture Henning · Aug 4, 2010

As others mentioned, it's only possible via reflection in certain circumstances.

If you really need the type, this is the usual (type-safe) workaround pattern:

public class GenericClass<T> {

     private final Class<T> type;

     public GenericClass(Class<T> type) {
          this.type = type;
     }

     public Class<T> getMyType() {
         return this.type;
     }
}

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