Question

what is type erasure? why does Java use it when dealing with templated generic classes? what does java do instead

Answer 1

Type erasure is a pattern applied to protocols with associated types. With its help we can work around the strong type safety of the Swift compiler in order to use the protocols in a way that is similar to using protocols without associated types.

Why does Java use it?

The Java compiler applies type erasure to implement generics and to:

• Replace all type parameters in generic types with their object if the type parameters are unbounded.
• The produced bytecode, therefore, contains only ordinary classes, interfaces, and methods.
• Generate bridge methods to preserve polymorphism in extended generic types.

Type erasure ensures that no new classes are created for parameterized types.

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