Use when you need to review, improve, or refactor Java code for generics quality — including avoiding raw types, applying the PECS (Producer Extends Consumer Super) principle for wildcards, using bounded type parameters, designing effective generic methods, leveraging the diamond operator, understanding type erasure implications, handling generic inheritance correctly, preventing heap pollution with @SafeVarargs, and integrating generics with modern Java features like Records, sealed types, and…
Use when you need to review, improve, or refactor Java code for generics quality — including avoiding raw types, applying the PECS (Producer Extends Consumer Super) principle for wildcards, using bounded type parameters, designing effective generic methods, leveraging the diamond operator, understanding type erasure implications, handling generic inheritance correctly, preventing heap pollution with @SafeVarargs, and integrating generics with modern Java features like Records, sealed types, and pattern matching.
This should trigger for requests such as Improve the code with Generics; Apply Generics; Refactor the code with Generics; Improve generic type safety in Java APIs; Fix raw types and unchecked casts in Java code.
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Skill metadata
Parsed from SKILL.md frontmatter.
Version0.18.0
LicenseApache-2.0
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author
Juan Antonio Breña Moral
version
0.18.0
Package contents
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skill mdSKILL.md3,828 B
docsSUMMARY.md779 B
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First recorded snapshot · 303 installs
SKILL.md
Java Generics Best Practices
Review and improve Java code using comprehensive generics best practices that enforce compile-time type safety and enable flexible, reusable APIs.
What is covered in this Skill?
Type safety: avoiding raw types, eliminating unsafe casts
Code reusability: generic methods and types for multiple type contexts
PECS wildcards: ? extends for producers, ? super for consumers
Diamond operator for type inference
Type erasure awareness: type tokens, factory patterns, array creation
Generic inheritance and variance: invariance, covariance, contravariance
@SafeVarargs for heap pollution prevention
Wildcard capture helpers, self-bounded generics (CRTP) for fluent builders
Proper wildcard API design: Comparator<? super T>, Function<? super T, ? extends R>
Arrays-vs-generics covariance pitfalls, serialization with TypeReference/TypeToken
Generic naming conventions (T, E, K/V, ?), typesafe heterogeneous containers
Integration with Records, sealed types, and pattern matching
Scope: The reference is organized by examples (good/bad code patterns) for each core area. Apply recommendations based on applicable examples.
Constraints
Before applying any generics changes, ensure the project compiles. If compilation fails, stop immediately — do not proceed until resolved. After applying improvements, run full verification.
MANDATORY: Run ./mvnw compile or mvn compile before applying any change
SAFETY: If compilation fails, stop immediately and do not proceed — compilation failure is a blocking condition
VERIFY: Run ./mvnw clean verify or mvn clean verify after applying improvements
BEFORE APPLYING: Read the reference for detailed examples, good/bad patterns, and constraints
EDGE CASE: If request scope is ambiguous, stop and ask a clarifying question before applying changes
EDGE CASE: If required inputs, files, or tooling are missing, report what is missing and ask whether to proceed with setup guidance
When to use this skill
Improve the code with Generics
Apply Generics
Refactor the code with Generics
Improve generic type safety in Java APIs
Fix raw types and unchecked casts in Java code
Workflow
Compile project before generics changes
Run ./mvnw compile or mvn compile and stop immediately if compilation fails.
Read generics reference and assess type safety
Read references/128-java-generics.md and identify raw types, unsafe casts, wildcard misuse, and API variance opportunities.
Apply generics refactorings
Implement selected generic type and API improvements while preserving behavior.
Verify with full build
Run ./mvnw clean verify or mvn clean verify after applying improvements.
Reference
For detailed guidance, examples, and constraints, see [references/128-java-generics.md](references/128-java-generics.md).
