Create instance of generic type in Java?

Question

Is it possible to create an instance of a generic type in Java? I\'m thinking based on what I\'ve seen that the answer is no (due to type erasure), but

Answer 1

Dunno if this helps, but when you subclass (including anonymously) a generic type, the type information is available via reflection. e.g.,

public abstract class Foo {

  public E instance;  

  public Foo() throws Exception {
    instance = ((Class)((ParameterizedType)this.getClass().
       getGenericSuperclass()).getActualTypeArguments()[0]).newInstance();
    ...
  }

}

So, when you subclass Foo, you get an instance of Bar e.g.,

// notice that this in anonymous subclass of Foo
assert( new Foo() {}.instance instanceof Bar );

But it's a lot of work, and only works for subclasses. Can be handy though.