What do the <>'s mean in Java declarations and instantiations?
<p>I am new to java and have a question</p>

<pre><code>myBooks = new ArrayList&lt;HashMap&lt;String,Object&gt;&gt;();
</code></pre>

<p>What is <code>HashMap</code> and what does it mean when we use <code>&lt;</code> <code>&gt;</code> for <code>ArrayList</code> class?</p>
