Java Generics -- What am I missing?

Question

I am wondering if ya'll can help me get a better grip on generics. I have simplified this question as much as possible.

I am trying to save the element stored in a linked list in a variable called saveIt. I know LinkedList itself uses generics, so I want my variable to take up whatever data type is in the list. I believe LinkedList itself designates that type as E, but when I try to declare a variable as 'E saveIt' I get "cannot resolve symbol E."

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // whatever goes here ...
    }

    void saveElement(LinkedList input) {
        E saveIt = input.getFirst();
    }
}

If I make the LinkedList then I can declare a variable as 'Integer saveIt' but that isn't what I want to do.

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // whatever goes here ...
    }

    void saveElement(LinkedList<Integer> input) {
        Integer saveIt = input.getFirst();
    }
}

I considered declaring 'Object saveIt' but I'm not sure whether that is the right approach. The concept of datatype E obviously exists in Java, and isn't quite the same as Object (or is it?), so why can't I access it (or how can I access it)?

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // whatever goes here ...
    }

    void saveElement(LinkedList input) {
        Object saveIt = input.getFirst();
    }
}

So, basic question is if I want to have my method address whatever datatype is in the list, how do I do that?

Answer 1

<E> void saveElement(LinkedList<E> input) {
    E saveIt = input.getFirst();
}

You need to tell Java that E is a type parameter of your method -- it's like another thing that's being passed in! -- and that the LinkedList contains elements of type E.