In Java, what does it mean when a type is followed by angle brackets (as in List)?

Question

I saw sometimes a type object inside <> beside of another object type declaration. For instance:

NavigableMap colorMap = new Tree         


        

Answer 1

These are called Generics in Java. They give you a way to tell the compiler what type the collection is going to hold.

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/generics.html