Hello, I need to store a type (either a KClass or ...

# reflect

[jaqxues]

Hello,
I need to store a type (either a KClass or a KType) and was wondering whether it even make sense to want to store a simple type as KClass, or does it not matter if I have everything as KType (regarding space efficiency).
Intuitively, I would not use the java-reflect-Type since it seemed more complex than simply Class, but I was wondering if that actually holds up.

So what takes less space, a KClass or a KType (String::class or typeOf<String>())

[udalov]

KType takes more space because it consists of classifier (which is KClass for class types) + generic argument types + nullability + annotations

[jaqxues]

Is there a way i can check if a reified type is generic? So i can simplify the api to always use a generic, and not let the user either use a KType or a KClass.

From
fun <T: Any> withType(type: KClass<T>) and fun <T> withType(type: KType)
To
inline fun <reified T>()

Something like
if (isGeneric<T>) typeOf<T>() else T::class

Also when the type is nullable, use a KType ig. For that null is T would work though I think.

[udalov]

I recommend to choose based on specific properties of KType, I think it’ll be a bit clearer:

val type = typeOf<T>()
if (type.isMarkedNullable || type.arguments.isNotEmpty()) type else T::class

[jaqxues]

That works ig, thanks!