why the 'identifier expected' error here?

[Thomas Kennedy]

Why does the compiler say

collx.java:4: <identifier> expected
t.add(new Thing("Beaker"));
^

for this code?

import java.util.*;
class collx{
List<Thing> t = new ArrayList<Thing>();
t.add(new Thing("Beaker"));
...
}
 
class Thing implements Comparable<Thing>{
private String v;
Thing(String v){this.v = v;}
public int compareTo(Thing b){
return this.toString().compareTo(b.toString());
}
public String toString(){
return v;
}
}

[Shiaber Shaam]

List<Thing> t = new ArrayList<Thing>();
t.add(new Thing("Beaker"));

I don't know what do you mean by <Thing> in the above statements.

But, the code should be as shown below,

List t = new ArrayList();
t.add(new Thing("Beaker"));

Thanks,

[Bear Bibeault]

Originally posted by Shiaber Shaam:
I don't know what do you mean by <Thing> in the above statements.

It's the use of Java 1.5 generics and it's perfectly legal.

But, the code should be as shown below,

No, the code statements are fine.

The problem is that these statements do not appear within a method or initializer block. That's not valid. The code needs to appear inside a code container.

[Thomas Kennedy]

Thank you! I miss my coffee. I had to cut out all caffeine and I've been more or less brain-damaged ever since.

[Bear Bibeault]

Without coffee I am a miserable pile of jelly quivering in my chair. I feel for you!