public interface TypeVariable<D extends GenericDeclaration> extends Type, AnnotatedElement

TypeVariable is the common superinterface for type variables of kinds. A type variable is created the first time it is needed by a reflective method, as specified in this package. If a type variable t is referenced by a type (i.e, class, interface or annotation type) T, and T is declared by the n^th enclosing class of T (see JLS 8.1.2), then the creation of t requires the resolution (see JVMS 5) of the i^th enclosing class of T, for i = 0 to n, inclusive. Creating a type variable must not cause the creation of its bounds. Repeated creation of a type variable has no effect.

Multiple objects may be instantiated at run-time to represent a given type variable. Even though a type variable is created only once, this does not imply any requirement to cache instances representing the type variable. However, all instances representing a type variable must be equal() to each other. As a consequence, users of type variables must not rely on the identity of instances of classes implementing this interface.