Chapter 17: Problem 6

When you create an instance of a generic class, can you pass reference types, primitive types, or either to the class's type parameter?

Short Answer

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Answer: When creating an instance of a generic class, you can pass both reference types and primitive types to the class's type parameter. This flexibility ensures code reusability and maintains type safety throughout the project.

Step by step solution

Understand Generic Classes

In programming, generic classes are classes that can work with any data type, rather than being restricted to a single data type. This flexibility allows code reuse and ensures type safety throughout a project.

Reference Types and Primitive Types

In most programming languages, there are two main categories of data types: reference types and primitive types. Reference types are objects that store a memory address, such as classes, interfaces, arrays, and delegates. Primitive types are the basic data types, like integers, floating-point numbers, characters, and Booleans.

Passing Reference Types to a Generic Class

When creating an instance of a generic class, it is possible to pass reference types to the class's type parameter because generic classes work with any data type, including reference types. This enables flexibility and ensures type safety.

Passing Primitive Types to a Generic Class

Similarly to reference types, it is also possible to pass primitive types to a generic class's type parameter. Generic classes are designed to work with any data types, providing the same flexibility and type safety as with reference types.

Final Verdict

When creating an instance of a generic class, you can pass reference types, primitive types, or either to the class's type parameter. This versatility ensures code reusability and type safety throughout the project.

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When you create an instance of a generic class, can you pass reference types, primitive types, or either to the class's type parameter?

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Understand Generic Classes

Reference Types and Primitive Types

Passing Reference Types to a Generic Class

Passing Primitive Types to a Generic Class

Final Verdict

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