Merge pull request #10156 from stancalau/BAEL-4218

Explanation of “ClassCastException” in Java

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/main/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/Animal.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+public interface Animal {
+
+    String getName();
+}

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/main/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/Box.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+public class Box<T> {
+
+    private T content;
+
+    public T getContent() {
+        return content;
+    }
+
+    public void setContent(T content) {
+        this.content = content;
+    }
+}

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/main/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/Frog.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+public class Frog extends Reptile {
+
+    @Override
+    public String getName() {
+        return super.getName() + ": Frog";
+    }
+}

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/main/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/Mammal.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+public class Mammal implements Animal {
+
+    @Override
+    public String getName() {
+        return "Mammal";
+    }
+}

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/main/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/Reptile.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+public class Reptile implements Animal {
+
+    @Override
+    public String getName() {
+        return "Reptile";
+    }
+}

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/test/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/CheckedCastsUnitTest.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+
+public class CheckedCastsUnitTest {
+
+    @Test(expected = ClassCastException.class)
+    public void givenBaseTypeVariableReferencingChildInstance_whenCastToIncompatibleSubtype_thenClassCastException() {
+        Animal animal = new Frog();
+
+        //A checked downcast to Mammal is incompatible from Frog because Frog is not a subtype of Mammal.
+        Mammal mammal = (Mammal) animal;
+    }
+
+    @Test(expected = ClassCastException.class)
+    public void givenBaseTypeVariableReferencingChildInstance_whenCastToIncompatibleInterface_thenClassCastException() {
+        Animal animal = new Frog();
+
+        //A checked cast to Serializable is incompatible from Frog because Frog is not a subtype of Serializable.
+        Serializable serial = (Serializable) animal;
+    }
+
+    @Test(expected = ClassCastException.class)
+    public void givenObjectVariableReferencingPrimitiveArray_whenCastToBoxedTypeArray_thenClassCastException() {
+        Object primitives = new int[1];
+
+        //A checked cast to Integer[] is incompatible from primitive arrays. Auto-boxing does not work for arrays.
+        Integer[] integers = (Integer[]) primitives;
+    }
+
+    @Test(expected = ClassCastException.class)
+    public void givenObjectVariableReferencingPrimitiveArray_whenCastToPromotedTypeArray_thenClassCastException() {
+        Object primitives = new int[1];
+
+        //A checked cast to long[] is incompatible from int[]. Type promotion does not work for arrays.
+        long[] longs = (long[]) primitives;
+    }
+}

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/test/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/GenericConversionUnitTest.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class GenericConversionUnitTest {
+
+    @Test(expected = ClassCastException.class)
+    public void givenIncompatibleType_whenConvertInstanceOfObject_thenClassCastException() {
+        // Should have been null, but due to type erasure, inside convertInstanceOfObject,
+        // it will attempt to cast to Object instead of String, so it casts to Object, which is always possible.
+        String shouldBeNull = convertInstanceOfObject(123);
+    }
+
+    public static <T> T convertInstanceOfObject(Object o) {
+        try {
+            return (T) o; // Casts to Object due to type erasure
+        } catch (ClassCastException e) {
+            return null; // Will never reach this
+        }
+    }
+}

core-java-modules/core-java-exceptions-3/src/test/java/com/baeldung/exceptions/classcastexception/UncheckedConversionUnitTest.java

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+package com.baeldung.exceptions.classcastexception;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class UncheckedConversionUnitTest {
+
+    @Test(expected = ClassCastException.class)
+    public void givenPollutedGenericType_whenGetProperty_thenClassCastException() {
+        Box<Long> originalBox = new Box<>();
+        Box raw = originalBox;
+        raw.setContent(2.5);
+        Box<Long> bound = (Box<Long>) raw;
+
+        //An incompatible element was found in the raw box.
+        Long content = bound.getContent();
+    }
+}