Java generics - get class? [duplicate]

I got a list, programmed like this: public class MyList<T>. Is there any way to use the T variable to get the name of class (so I can, from within MyList, know if T is String, Socket, etc.)?

EDIT: Nevermind, found the answer here.

Short answer: You can't.

Long answer:

Due to the way generics is implemented in Java, the generic type T is not kept at runtime. Still, you can use a private data member:

public class Foo<T> 
{
    private Class<T> type;

    public Foo(Class<T> type) { this.type = type; } 
}

Usage example:

Foo<Integer> test = new Foo<Integer>(Integer.class);

I like the solution from

http://www.nautsch.net/2008/10/28/class-von-type-parameter-java-generics/

public class Dada<T> {

    private Class<T> typeOfT;

    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public Dada() {
        this.typeOfT = (Class<T>)
                ((ParameterizedType)getClass()
                .getGenericSuperclass())
                .getActualTypeArguments()[0];
    }
...

You are seeing the result of Type Erasure. From that page...

When a generic type is instantiated, the compiler translates those types by a technique called type erasure — a process where the compiler removes all information related to type parameters and type arguments within a class or method. Type erasure enables Java applications that use generics to maintain binary compatibility with Java libraries and applications that were created before generics.

For instance, Box<String> is translated to type Box, which is called the raw type — a raw type is a generic class or interface name without any type arguments. This means that you can't find out what type of Object a generic class is using at runtime.

This also looks like this question which has a pretty good answer as well.