Why do some claim that Java's implementation of generics is bad?

Question

I\'ve occasionally heard that with generics, Java didn\'t get it right. (nearest reference, here)

Pardon my inexperience, but what would have made them better?

Answer 1

Bad:

• Type information is lost at compile time, so at execution time you can't tell what type it's "meant" to be
• Can't be used for value types (this is a biggie - in .NET a List really is backed by a byte[] for example, and no boxing is required)
• Syntax for calling generic methods sucks (IMO)
• Syntax for constraints can get confusing
• Wildcarding is generally confusing
• Various restrictions due to the above - casting etc

Good:

• Wildcarding allows covariance/contravariance to be specified at calling side, which is very neat in many situations
• It's better than nothing!