How to check type of variable in Java?

Question

How can I check to make sure my variable is an int, array, double, etc...?

Edit: For example, how can I check that a variable is an array? Is there some function to

Answer 1

Well, I think checking the type of variable can be done this way.

public  void checkType(T object) {    
    if (object instanceof Integer)
        System.out.println("Integer ");
    else if(object instanceof Double)
        System.out.println("Double ");
    else if(object instanceof Float)
        System.out.println("Float : ");
    else if(object instanceof List)
        System.out.println("List! ");
    else if(object instanceof Set)
        System.out.println("Set! ");
}

This way you need not have multiple overloaded methods. I think it is good practice to use collections over arrays due to the added benefits. Having said that, I do not know how to check for an array type. Maybe someone can improve this solution. Hope this helps!

P.S Yes, I know that this doesn't check for primitives as well.