Concept (generic programming)

Generic programming is a way of writing code that can work with lots of different kinds of data without having to write new code for each kind of data. Think of it like a toolbox with different sized wrenches. If you only had one size wrench, you would have to get a new wrench every time you needed to fix something that required a different size. But with different sized wrenches in your toolbox, you can use the same tools to fix different things.

It's kind of like that with generic programming. When programmers write code, they use something called "templates" to make it work with lots of different types of data. They can write code that works with any kind of data that fits a certain template or pattern. This means they don't have to write new code for each kind of data they want to work with.

For example, imagine you wanted to write a program to sort a bunch of numbers. You could write one program that only works with integers (whole numbers), but what if you wanted to sort decimals or even words? You could write new programs for each type of data, but that would take a lot of time and be really complicated.

Instead, you could use generic programming to write one program that works with any kind of data that can be compared to each other. You might write a template that says, "For any two pieces of data, call a function that compares them and returns true if the first one is less than the second one." Then you could use that template to write a sorting algorithm that works with any type of data that can be compared, like numbers, decimals, or even words.

So, generic programming is a way for programmers to write code that is more flexible and can be reused for different types of data. It's like having a toolbox full of tools that can handle lots of different jobs instead of just one specialized tool.