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

From Java Tutorial - Restrictions on Generics:

Cannot Create Instances of Type Parameters

You cannot create an instance of a type parameter. For example, the following code causes a compile-time error:

public static  void append(List list) {
    E elem = new E();  // compile-time error
    list.add(elem);
}

As a workaround, you can create an object of a type parameter through reflection:

public static  void append(List list, Class cls) throws Exception {
    E elem = cls.newInstance();   // OK
    list.add(elem);
}

You can invoke the append method as follows:

List ls = new ArrayList<>();
append(ls, String.class);