Chapter 10:

Inheritance
Starting Out with Java:
From Control Structures through Objects
Fifth Edition
by Tony Gaddis

Chapter Topics
Chapter 10 discusses the following main topics:

What Is Inheritance?
Calling the Superclass Constructor
Overriding Superclass Methods
Protected Members
Chains of Inheritance
The Object Class
Polymorphism
Abstract Classes and Abstract Methods
Interfaces

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What is Inheritance?
Generalization vs. Specialization
Real-life objects are typically specialized versions of
other more general objects.
The term insect describes a very general type of
creature with numerous characteristics.
Grasshoppers and bumblebees are insects
They share the general characteristics of an insect.
However, they have special characteristics of their own.
grasshoppers have a jumping ability, and
bumblebees have a stinger.

Grasshoppers and bumblebees are specialized versions

of an insect.
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Inheritance
Insect
Contains those attributes
and methods that are
shared by all insects.

BumbleBee

Grasshopper

Contains those attributes and

methods that specific to a
Bumble Bee.

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Contains those attributes and

methods that are specific to a
Grasshopper.

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The is a Relationship
The relationship between a superclass and an inherited
class is called an is a relationship.
A grasshopper is a insect.
A poodle is a dog.
A car is a vehicle.

A specialized object has:

all of the characteristics of the general object, plus
additional characteristics that make it special.

In object-oriented programming, inheritance is used to

create an is a relationship among classes.
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The is a Relationship
We can extend the capabilities of a class.
Inheritance involves a superclass and a subclass.
The superclass is the general class and
the subclass is the specialized class.

The subclass is based on, or extended from, the superclass.

Superclasses are also called base classes, and
subclasses are also called derived classes.

The relationship of classes can be thought of as parent classes

and child classes.

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Inheritance
The subclass inherits fields and methods from the
superclass without any of them being rewritten.
New fields and methods may be added to the subclass.
The Java keyword, extends, is used on the class header
to define the subclass.
public class FinalExam extends GradedActivity

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The GradedActivity Example

GradedActivity
- score : double
+ setScore(s : double) : void
+ getScore() : double
+ getGrade() : char

FinaExam
- numQuestions : int
- pointsEach : double
- numMissed : int
+ FinalExam(questions : int,
missed : int)
+ getPointsEach() : double
+ getNumMissed() : int

Contains those attributes and methods

that are shared by all graded activities.
Contains those attributes and methods
that are specific to the FinalExam
class.
Inherits all non-private attributes and
methods from the GradedActivity
class.

Example:

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GradedActivity.java,
GradeDemo.java,
FinalExam.java,
FinalExamDemo.java
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Inheritance, Fields and Methods

Members of the superclass that are marked private:
are not inherited by the subclass,
exist in memory when the object of the subclass is created
may only be accessed from the subclass by public methods
of the superclass.

Members of the superclass that are marked public:

are inherited by the subclass, and
may be directly accessed from the subclass.

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Inheritance, Fields and Methods

When an instance of the subclass is created, the non-private
methods of the superclass are available through the subclass object.
FinalExam exam = new FinalExam();
exam.setScore(85.0);
System.out.println("Score = "
+ exam.getScore());

Non-private methods and fields of the superclass are available in

the subclass.
setScore(newScore);

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Inheritance and Constructors

Constructors are not inherited.
When a subclass is instantiated, the superclass default
constructor is executed first.
Example:
SuperClass1.java
SubClass1.java
ConstructorDemo1.java

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The Superclasss Constructor

The super keyword refers to an objects superclass.
The superclass constructor can be explicitly called
from the subclass by using the super keyword.
Example:
SuperClass2.java, SubClass2.java, ConstructorDemo2.java
Rectangle.java, Cube.java, CubeDemo.java

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Calling The Superclass Constructor

If a parameterized constructor is defined in the
superclass,
the superclass must provide a no-arg constructor, or
subclasses must provide a constructor, and
subclasses must call a superclass constructor.

Calls to a superclass constructor must be the first

java statement in the subclass constructors.

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Overriding Superclass Methods

A subclass may have a method with the same
signature as a superclass method.
The subclass method overrides the superclass
method.
This is known as method overriding.
Example:
GradedActivity.java, CurvedActivity.java,
CurvedActivityDemo.java

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Overriding Superclass Methods

GradedActivity
- score : double
+ setScore(s : double) : void
+ getScore() : double
+ getGrade() : char

CurvedActivity
- rawScore : double
- percentage : double

This method is a more specialized

version of the setScore method in
the superclass, GradedActivity.

+ CurvedActivity
(percent : double)
+ setScore(s : double) : void
+ getRawScore() : double
+ getPercentage() : double
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Overriding Superclass Methods

Recall that a methods signature consists of:
the methods name
the data types methods parameters in the order that they
appear.

A subclass method that overrides a superclass method

must have the same signature as the superclass
method.
An object of the subclass invokes the subclasss
version of the method, not the superclasss.

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Overriding Superclass Methods

An subclass method can call the overridden superclass method
via the super keyword.
super.setScore(rawScore * percentage);
There is a distinction between overloading a method and
overriding a method.
Overloading is when a method has the same name as one or
more other methods, but with a different signature.
When a method overrides another method, however, they both
have the same signature.

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Overriding Superclass Methods

Both overloading and overriding can take place in an
inheritance relationship.
Overriding can only take place in an inheritance
relationship.
Example:
SuperClass3.java,
SubClass3.java,
ShowValueDemo.java

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Preventing a Method from Being

Overridden

The final modifier will prevent the overriding of a

superclass method in a subclass.
public final void message()

If a subclass attempts to override a final method, the

compiler generates an error.
This ensures that a particular superclass method is used
by subclasses rather than a modified version of it.

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Protected Members
Protected members of class:
may be accessed by methods in a subclass, and
by methods in the same package as the class.

Java provides a third access specification,

protected.
A protected members access is somewhere between
private and public.
Example:
GradedActivity2.java
FinalExam2.java
ProtectedDemo.java
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Protected Members
Using protected instead of private makes some tasks
easier.
However, any class that is derived from the class, or is in the
same package, has unrestricted access to the protected
member.
It is always better to make all fields private and then
provide public methods for accessing those fields.
If no access specifier for a class member is provided, the class
member is given package access by default.
Any method in the same package may access the member.

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Access Specifiers
Access
Modifier

Accessible to a subclass inside

the same package?

Accessible to all other classes

inside the same package?

default
(no modifier)

Yes

Yes

Public

Yes

Yes

Protected

Yes

Yes

Private

No

No

Access
Modifier

Accessible to a subclass
outside the package?

Accessible to all other classes

outside the package?

default
(no modifier)

No

No

Public

Yes

Yes

Protected

Yes

No

Private

No

No

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Chains of Inheritance
A superclass can also be derived from another
class.
Object
Example:
GradedActivity.java
PassFailActivity.java
PassFailExam.java
PassFailExamDemo.java

GradedActivity

PassFailActivity

PassFailExam
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Chains of Inheritance
Classes often are depicted graphically in a class
hierarchy.
A class hierarchy shows the inheritance
relationships between classes.
GradedActivity
FinalExam

PassFailActivity
PassFailExam

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The Object Class

All Java classes are directly or indirectly derived from a class
named Object.
Object is in the java.lang package.
Any class that does not specify the extends keyword is
automatically derived from the Object class.
public class MyClass
{
// This class is derived from Object.

Ultimately, every class is derived from the Object class.

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The Object Class

Because every class is directly or indirectly derived
from the Object class:
every class inherits the Object classs members.
example: toString and equals.

In the Object class, the toString method returns a

string containing the objects class name and a hash of
its memory address.
The equals method accepts the address of an object
as its argument and returns true if it is the same as the
calling objects address.
Example: ObjectMethods.java
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Polymorphism
A reference variable can reference objects of classes that are derived
from the variables class.
GradedActivity exam;
We can use the exam variable to reference a GradedActivity
object.
exam = new GradedActivity();
The GradedActivity class is also used as the superclass for the
FinalExam class.
An object of the FinalExam class is a GradedActivity object.

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Polymorphism
A GradedActivity variable can be used to reference a
FinalExam object.
GradedActivity exam = new FinalExam(50, 7);

This statement creates a FinalExam object and stores the

objects address in the exam variable.
This is an example of polymorphism.
The term polymorphism means the ability to take many forms.
In Java, a reference variable is polymorphic because it can
reference objects of types different from its own, as long as those
types are subclasses of its type.

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Polymorphism
Other legal polymorphic references:
GradedActivity exam1 = new FinalExam(50, 7);
GradedActivity exam2 = new PassFailActivity(70);
GradedActivity exam3 = new PassFailExam(100, 10, 70);

The GradedActivity class has three methods:

setScore, getScore, and getGrade.
A GradedActivity variable can be used to call only those
three methods.
GradedActivity exam = new PassFailExam(100, 10, 70);
System.out.println(exam.getScore()); // This works.
System.out.println(exam.getGrade()); // This works.
System.out.println(exam.getPointsEach()); // ERROR!
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Polymorphism and Dynamic Binding

If the object of the subclass has overridden a method in the
superclass:
If the variable makes a call to that method the subclasss version of the
method will be run.
GradedActivity exam = new PassFailActivity(60);
exam.setScore(70);
System.out.println(exam.getGrade());

Java performs dynamic binding or late binding when a variable contains a

polymorphic reference.
The Java Virtual Machine determines at runtime which method to call,
depending on the type of object that the variable references.

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Polymorphism
It is the objects type, rather than the reference type,
that determines which method is called.
Example:
Polymorphic.java

You cannot assign a superclass object to a subclass

reference variable.

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Abstract Classes
An abstract class cannot be instantiated, but other classes are
derived from it.
An Abstract class serves as a superclass for other classes.
The abstract class represents the generic or abstract form of all
the classes that are derived from it.
A class becomes abstract when you place the abstract key word
in the class definition.
public abstract class ClassName

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Abstract Methods
An abstract method has no body and must be
overridden in a subclass.
An abstract method is a method that appears in a
superclass, but expects to be overridden in a subclass.
An abstract method has only a header and no body.
AccessSpecifier abstract ReturnType MethodName(ParameterList);

Example:
Student.java, CompSciStudent.java, CompSciStudentDemo.java

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Abstract Methods
Notice that the key word abstract appears in the header, and
that the header ends with a semicolon.
public abstract void setValue(int value);

Any class that contains an abstract method is automatically

abstract.
If a subclass fails to override an abstract method, a compiler
error will result.
Abstract methods are used to ensure that a subclass implements
the method.
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Interfaces
An interface is similar to an abstract class that has all
abstract methods.
It cannot be instantiated, and
all of the methods listed in an interface must be written elsewhere.

The purpose of an interface is to specify behavior for other

classes.
An interface looks similar to a class, except:
the keyword interface is used instead of the keyword class,
and
the methods that are specified in an interface have no bodies, only
headers that are terminated by semicolons.

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Interfaces
The general format of an interface definition:
public interface InterfaceName
{
(Method headers...)
}

All methods specified by an interface are public by default.

A class can implement one or more interfaces.

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Interfaces
If a class implements an interface, it uses the
implements keyword in the class header.
public class FinalExam3 extends GradedActivity
implements Relatable

Example:

GradedActivity.java
Relatable.java
FinalExam3.java
InterfaceDemo.java

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Fields in Interfaces
An interface can contain field declarations:
all fields in an interface are treated as final and static.

Because they automatically become final, you must provide an

initialization value.
public interface Doable
{
int FIELD1 = 1, FIELD2 = 2;
(Method headers...)
}

In this interface, FIELD1 and FIELD2 are final static

int variables.
Any class that implements this interface has access to these
variables.
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Implementing Multiple Interfaces

A class can be derived from only one superclass.
Java allows a class to implement multiple interfaces.
When a class implements multiple interfaces, it must provide
the methods specified by all of them.
To specify multiple interfaces in a class definition, simply list
the names of the interfaces, separated by commas, after the
implements key word.
public class MyClass implements Interface1,
Interface2,
Interface3

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Interfaces in UML
GradedActivity

A dashed line with an arrow

indicates implementation of an
interface.

FinalExam3

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Relatable

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Polymorphism with Interfaces

Java allows you to create reference variables of an interface
type.
An interface reference variable can reference any object
that implements that interface, regardless of its class type.
This is another example of polymorphism.
Example:

RetailItem.java
CompactDisc.java
DvdMovie.java
PolymorphicInterfaceDemo.java

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Polymorphism with Interfaces

In the example code, two RetailItem reference variables,
item1 and item2, are declared.
The item1 variable references a CompactDisc object and
the item2 variable references a DvdMovie object.
When a class implements an interface, an inheritance
relationship known as interface inheritance is established.
a CompactDisc object is a RetailItem, and
a DvdMovie object is a RetailItem.

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Polymorphism with Interfaces

A reference to an interface can point to any class that
implements that interface.
You cannot create an instance of an interface.
RetailItem item = new RetailItem(); // ERROR!

When an interface variable references an object:

only the methods declared in the interface are available,
explicit type casting is required to access the other methods of an object
referenced by an interface reference.

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