The Java Language Specification, Third Edition

TYPES, VALUES, AND VARIABLES Raw Types 4.8
DISCUSSION
For example,
import java.util.*;
class NonGeneric {
Collection myNumbers(){return null;}
}
abstract class RawMembers extends NonGeneric implements Collection
{
static Collection cng =
new ArrayList();
public static void main(String[] args) {
RawMembers rw = null;
Collection cn = rw.myNumbers(); // ok
Iterator is = rw.iterator(); // unchecked warning
Collection cnn = rw.cng; // ok - static member
}
}
RawMembers inherits the method
Iterator iterator()
from the Collection superinterface. However, the type RawMembers inherits
iterator() from the erasure of its superinterface, which means that the return type of
the member iterator() is the erasure of Iterator