C# implements proper reified generics. Generic types parameterised with different types are actual types in C#, while in Java generics is basically just syntax sugar for avoiding type casts. Each element in a List<byte> in C# takes 8 bits, while in Java each element in a ArrayList<Byte> is actually just an Object and therefore is a pointer (64 bits) to a separate allocation.

As "better" isn't clearly defined, here are some things that some people might consider superior:

- primitives or any custom value types/structs can be used. No need for boxing or method duplication for primitives. - type information available at runtime, no need to pass 'Class<T>' parameters. - type constraint 'new' available, which means it must have a default constructor so you can do 'new T()'. No need to use reflection or pass a constructor parameter. - type constraint 'notnull' available - class-scoped compiler enforced covariance and contravariance, though I think you can get similar results with java's "? extends T" and "? super T" constraints

You can't easily create a instance of the generic type in java. for example :

return new T();

is possible in C#, not in java.

C# generics are reified.