1.

00 Lecture 13

Inheritance

Reading for next time: Big Java: sections 10.5-10.6

Inheritance
• Inheritance allows you to write new classes
based on existing (super or base) classes
– Inherit super class methods and data
– Add new methods and data
• This allows substantial reuse of Java code
– When extending software, we often write new code that
invokes old code (libraries, etc.)
– We sometimes need to have old code invoke new code
(even code that wasn

t imagined when the old code was
written), without changing (or even having) the old code
• E.g., A drawing program must manage a new shape
– Inheritance allows us to do this also

1
 Access for inheritance
• Class may contain members (methods or data) of
type:
– Private:
• Access only by class

s methods
– Protected
• Access by:
– Class
s methods
– Methods of inheriting classes, called subclasses or derived
classes
– Classes in same package
– Package:
• Access by methods of classes in same package
– Public:
• Access to all classes everywhere

A Programming Project
• Department has system with Student class
– Has extensive data (name, ID, courses, year, ) for all
students that you need to use/display
– Department wants to manage research projects better
• Undergrads and grads have very different roles
– Positions, credit/grading, pay, 
– You want to reuse the Student class but need to add very
different data and methods by grad/undergrad
• Suppose Student was written 5 years ago by someone else
without any knowledge that it might be used to manage
research projects

2
 Classes and Objects
Encapsulation Message passing Main method

Student S1 public … main(…){

Student S1= new Student
private: public: (Jo,Wang, 1);
lastName ...
firstName printData
S1.printData();
dept // Prints all data
...
}

Inheritance
Class Student
Already written:
firstName printData
lastName
dept

is-a is-a

Class Undergrad Class Grad

firstName
firstName
lastName
lastName
dept
dept
underWage gradSalary
underHours printData
printData getPay
getPay
You next write:

3
 Inheritance, p.2

Class Grad
firstName
lastName
dept
gradSalary is-a
printData
getPay Class SpecGrad
firstName
lastName
dept
gradSalary
printData
getPay specStipend

Exercise: Student class

• Write a public Student class as a base or super
class:
– Two private variables: first name, last name
– Constructor with two arguments
– Void method printData() to print the first + last name:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

4
 Exercise: Undergrad class
• Write an Undergrad class as a derived or subclass:
– Class declaration:
• public class Undergrad extends Student
– Add private double variables underWage and underHours
– Constructor: How many arguments does it have?
• Invoke superclass constructor in 1st line of body:
super( <arguments> ) // Use actual arguments
• And then set the two new private variables as usual
– Method getPay() returns double underWage *
underHours
– Method printData() prints name and pay (void)
• Use superclass printData() method to print name in 1st line:
super.printData();
• Write a second line to System.out.println weekly pay

Exercise: Grad class

• Write a Grad class as a derived or subclass:
– Class declaration: extends Student
– Add private double variable gradSalary
– Constructor: How many arguments does it
have?
• Invoke superclass constructor in 1st line of body:
super( <arguments> ) // Use actual args
• And then set the new private variable
– Method getPay() returns double gradSalary
– Method printData() prints name and pay (void)
• Use superclass printData() method to print name
on 1st line
• Write second line to print monthly pay

5
 Exercise: Special Grad class
• Write SpecGrad class as derived or subclass:
– Class declaration: extends _______
– Add private double variable specStipend
– Constructor: How many arguments does it have?
• Invoke superclass constructor: super(<arguments>)
• And then set the new private variable
– Method getPay() returns double specStipend
– Method printData() prints name and pay (void)
• Use superclass printData() method to print name and
monthly salary (which is zero)
• Write second line to print stipend
– A special grad gets only a stipend, not a monthly
salary. We
ll discuss it in solutions.

Exercise: main()

• Download class StudentTest

– It has only a main() method, which:
• Creates Undergrad ferd at $12/hr for 8 hrs
• Prints Ferd
s data
• Creates Grad ann at $1500/month
• Prints Ann
s data
• Creates SpecGrad mary at $2000/term
• Prints Mary
s data
• Creates an array of 3 Students
• Sets array elements to ferd, ann, mary
• Loops through the array and uses printData() on
each Student object in the array to show their data.
– What happens in the loop? Did you expect it?

6
 Main method
public class StudentTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Undergrad ferd= new Undergrad("Ferd", "Smith", 12.00, 8.0);
ferd.printData();
Grad ann= new Grad("Ann", "Brown", 1500.00);
ann.printData();
SpecGrad mary= new SpecGrad("Mary", "Barrett", 2000.00);
mary.printData();
System.out.println();

// Polymorphism, and late binding

Java has internal
Student[] team= new Student[3];
team[0]= ferd; table with the
team[1]= ann; most specific object
team[2]= mary; type and chooses the
for (int i=0; i < 3; i++) appropriate method
team[i].printData();
}
at run time
}

Inheritance: Type set at runtime

• We can write a variation on StudentTest to
prompt the user to pick a student type
(undergrad, grad, special grad) with a
JOptionPane, and then enter the needed data
– The Undergrad, Grad or SpecGrad object would be
placed in the team array
• When this program is compiled it has no way of
knowing what kinds of Students will be added to
the team array by a user
• When the program is run and objects are added,
their types are dynamically tracked
– In the team array, each object

s specific printData()
method will be invoked

7
 StudentTest with input
import javax.swing.*;
public class StudentTestWithInput {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Student[] team = new Student[3];
for (int i= 0; i < team.length; i++) {
String type = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter type");
String fname = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter fname");
String lname = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter lname");
String payStr = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter pay");
double pay= Double.parseDouble(payStr);
if (type.equals("Grad"))
team[i]= new Grad(fname, lname, pay);
else if (type.equals("SpecGrad"))
team[i]= new SpecGrad(fname, lname, pay);
else
team[i]= new Undergrad(fname, lname, pay, 8.0);
}
// Polymorphism, and late binding
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
System.out.print(team[i].getClass()+ ": ");
team[i].printData(); } } }

Exercise
• In class Grad:
– Change printData() to use getPay() instead of
explicitly printing gradSalary
– Save/compile and run StudentTest
– What happens?

– Why?

8
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1.00 / 1.001 / 1.002 Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving

Spring 2012

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