Is there a difference between explicitly putting the type into the diamond operator vs letting java figure it out?

Question

Is there any difference between initialization via:

MyWrapper wrapper = new MyWrapper();

vs initialization via:

Answer 1

Before Java 7, the former was required. Now with type inferencing, the latter is preferred.

Answer 2

It is largely because while Java 7 is the current version, a lot of code still uses Java 6, which does not support the latter form.

In essence, Java 7 compilers are better at infering generic types.

Answer 3

The latter is only available since Java 7. That's why you often see the former. The latter is equivalent, and shorter.

Answer 4

JDK 7 allows to not redefine this "redundant" diamond at initialization time.

It's just a shorter syntax.

With JDK <= JDK 6, the latter doesn't work, you have to use the former.