public class Bounded {

  public static <T extends Comparable<T> > T min(T a, T b) {
    if (a.compareTo(b) < 0)
      return a;
    else
      return b;
  }

  public static <T extends Comparable<T> > T max(T a, T b) {
    if (a.compareTo(b) >= 0)
      return a;
    else
      return b;
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    int a=10, b=15;
    double f=3.14, g=4.01;
    String s="abc", t="abd";
    
    System.out.println(min(a, b) + " is smaller than " + max(a, b));
    System.out.println(min(f, g) + " is smaller than " + max(f, g));
    System.out.println(min(s, t) + " is smaller than " + max(s, t));
  }
}