What is the meaning of the <?> token in Java?

Question

What is the meaning of the token in this code copied from www.JavaPractices.com? When I replace it with the more conventional looking

Answer 1

It can take any parameter like Object,String,Integer.... and so on

Now when you plan to use generics then you have to provide the type inside the angel bracket.

EDIT:

is strictly appliable to Collections. used as type or template for your normal class