gistfile1.java

import java.util.Map;
import java.util.HashMap;

public class Make {
    private Make() {};

    @SuppressWarnings(value = "unchecked")
    public static <K, V> Map<K, V> map(Object... items) {
        if ((items.length % 2) != 0) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                    String.format("Number of items must be even (was %d)", items.length));
        }

        Map<K, V> map = new HashMap<K, V>();
        for (int i = 0; i < items.length; i+=2) {
            map.put((K)(items[i]), (V)(items[i + 1]));
        }

        return map;
    }
}

class Example {
    public static void main(String args[]) {
        Map<String, Integer> m = Make.map("a", 1, "b", 2);

        for (String key : m.keySet()) {
            System.out.println(String.format("%s: %d", key, m.get(key)));
        }
    }
}