How generics work at runtime

Generics in Java provide compile-time type safety and improve code reusability by allowing classes and methods to operate on various types without explicit casting. However, the way generics function at runtime is different from their behavior at compile time. This is due to a process known as type erasure.

At runtime, the generic type information is removed, and generic types are replaced by their upper bounds (or Object if no explicit bound is provided). Understanding this mechanism is crucial for grasping how generics work and what limitations they impose during runtime.