Creating generic classes

We are going to learn how to create a generic class in this lesson.

Generic class syntax

The syntax for a generic class is similar to that of a generic interface:

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class ClassName<T1, T2, ...> {
 ...
}

The members of the class can reference the types passed into it.

Generic class example

We will implement a generic list class where the type for the list items is passed into the class as a generic parameter.

Open exercise in CodeSandbox

The code contains the start of the generic list implementation.

• Continue the implementation by adding a strongly-typed add method to the class. This method has a single parameter for the list item to be added. The implementation should add the new list item to the items array.

• Let's create an instance of this generic class:

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const numberList = new List<number>();

So, we have created a class that will manage a list of numbers.

• Add a number to numberList:

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numberList.add(1);

• Try adding a string to numberList:

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numberList.add("2");

Summary

Using generic classes allows classes to be created for general situations that can be applied to a specific situation by supplying types as parameters.

Well done - we are now comfortable creating our own generic types!

Next, we will learn how we can define a default type for a generic parameter.