A DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUEST :
Currently GridBagConstraints.clone() returns Object. With covariant return types introduced in Java 5.0 it could return GridBagConstraints instead, reducing the number of casts required in application development when cloning GridBagConstraints objects.

JUSTIFICATION :
This enhancement is easy to implement: Add a cast, change return type, done. With little effort it's possible to make API users' lifes easier.

EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
Expected: GridBagConstraints.clone() return type is GridBagConstraints.
ACTUAL -
Actual: GridBagConstraints.clone() return type is Object.

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The following code should be compilable:

import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
public class TestCaseForGBCCovariantClone {
    public static final void main(final String... args) {
        final GridBagConstraints gbc1 = new GridBagConstraints();
        final GridBagConstraints gbc2 = gbc1.clone();
    }
}
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CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :
Always cast GridBagConstraints.clone() yourself.