Final answer:
The Java technique that allows generic programming is the use of type variables. Type variables allow you to create generic classes, interfaces, and methods that can work with different types of objects. The correct answer is A.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Java technique that allows generic programming is the use of type variables. Type variables allow you to create generic classes, interfaces, and methods that can work with different types of objects. They provide flexibility and reusability in code by allowing developers to write code that is independent of specific data types.
For example, consider a generic class called Box. With type variables, you can define a Box class that can hold objects of any type:
public class Box<T> {
private T contents;
public void setContents(T contents) {
this.contents = contents;
}
public T getContents() {
return contents;
}
}
This Box class can be used to create boxes for any type of object, such as Box<Integer> or Box<String>.
Generic programming in Java is enabled by type variables through the use of generics, while primitive types need to be wrapped and inheritance is not a direct method but can complement generics.
The Java technique that allows for generic programming is type variables. Generic programming is a style of computer programming that abstracts over types, and in Java, it is implemented using generics, which are a feature that enables types (classes and interfaces) to be parameters when defining classes, interfaces, and methods. This means that the same class, interface, or method can operate on different types while providing compile-time type safety.
Primitive types in Java, such as int, double, and char, do not support generic programming as they are not objects and cannot be used as type parameters in generics. However, Java provides wrapper classes for all primitive types that can be used with generics.
Inheritance is a concept in Java that allows a class to inherit properties and methods from another class. While inheritance is a fundamental object-oriented programming concept, it is not a direct mechanism for generic programming. However, it can be used in conjunction with generics to build very flexible structures.
To summarize, Java uses type variables to implement generics, which allows for generic programming. Primitive types require wrapping to be used with generics, and while inheritance is related, it is not a direct technique for achieving generic programming.