Comparing the values of two generic Numbers

Question

I want to compare to variables, both of type T extends Number. Now I want to know which of the two variables is greater than the other or equal. Unfortunately I

Answer 1

This should work for all classes that extend Number, and are Comparable to themselves.

class NumberComparator implements Comparator {

    public int compare(T a, T b){
        if (a instanceof Comparable) 
            if (a.getClass().equals(b.getClass()))
                return ((Comparable)a).compareTo(b);        
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
    }
}