Java Generics with Class

Question

So I have a map:

Map format = new HashMap();

And I would add elements to it like this:

Answer 1

Change:

Class type = Integer.class
Integer i = verifyType("100",type);

to

Class type = Integer.class
Integer i = verifyType("100",type);

By only declaring the type as 'Class', you're losing the generic parameter and the verifyType() method can't infer the class, thus the unchecked warning.

This problem:

Map format = new HashMap();
format.put("Vendor Number", Integer.class);
format.put("Vendor Dispatch", Date.class);
Integer i = verifyType("100",format.get("Vendor Number"));

can't really be solved due to type erasure. The compiler can't infer the type based on a generic parameter that is gone by runtime. This is because Java generics are little more than smoke and mirrors for casting.