How to call a Java method with an explicit type parameter without specifying the class?

Question

The following code does not compile, because Java cannot infer the type parameter to getSomething:

class Example {
  static void callIt() {
    takeString(getSomething());
  }

  static void takeString(String s) {
  }

  static <T> T getSomething() {
    return null;
  }
}

Is there some way to specify the type parameter like <String>getSomething(), but without specifying the name of the class it is being called on? i.e. not Example.<String>getSomething().

Answer 1

Is there some way to specify the type parameter like <String>getSomething(), but without specifying the name of the class it is being called on? i.e. not Example.<String>getSomething()

No, there is not. That is the syntax for explicitly providing a type argument to a generic method.

Your code should compile on Java 8, with its improved and targeted type inference.