[amoralis]

It seems like it should be valid, please explain why it isn't valid

[Ikopar]

List<Parent> list = new ArrayList<Parent>(); list.add(instanceOfChild);
Because generics don't work that way, there's no inheritence

[amoralis]

Ikopar: perhaps in that list instance you don't want parent to be accepted

[Ikopar]

Read the generics FAQ or tutorial, they cover this topic much better than I could

[amoralis]

Perhaps you only want a specific child object there
Not that I have a use case but maybe Aaron Zapashniy does heh

[Ikopar]

You generally don't want that

[Aaron Zapashniy]

I see. hm. interesting. okay.
Should still work fine, as 99% of the time i think i'm only performing parent methods when acting on collections.

[amoralis]

Generics in java kinda suck

[Aaron Zapashniy]

Is it just me or does the term generics seem completely contrary to what they actually are?
They're not generics. they're specifics.
Treating things as Object is generic.

[Gladis]

"templates" would be a better word for them.
Except that was taken. By something GOOD.