Java Programming, 9e

Chapter 10

Introduction to Inheritance

1
 Objectives

• Describe the concept of inheritance

• Extend classes
• Override superclass methods
• Call constructors during inheritance
• Access superclass methods
• Employ information hiding
• Learn which methods you cannot override

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classroom use.
 Learning About the Concept
of Inheritance
• Inheritance
• A mechanism that enables one class to inherit both the behavior and the attributes of
another class
• Apply your knowledge of a general category to more specific objects

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 Diagramming Inheritance Using
the UML (1 of 4)
• Unified Modeling Language (UML)
• Consists of many types of diagrams
• Class diagram
• A visual tool
• Provides an overview of a class

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Diagramming Inheritance Using
the UML (2 of 4)

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Diagramming Inheritance Using
the UML (3 of 4)

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 Diagramming Inheritance Using
the UML (4 of 4)
• Use inheritance to create a derived class
• Saves time
• Reduces errors
• Reduces the amount of new learning required to use a new class

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 Inheritance Terminology

• Base class
• Used as a basis for inheritance
• Also called:
- Superclass
- Parent class

• Derived class
• Inherits from a base class
• Always “is a” case or an example of a more general base class
• Also called:
- Subclass
- Child class

• Containment: “has-a” inheritance

• Composition
• Aggregation

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 Extending Classes (1 of 2)

• Keyword extends
• Used to achieve inheritance in Java
• Example:
public class EmployeeWithTerritory extends Employee

• Inheritance is a one-way proposition

• A child inherits from a parent, not the other way around
• Subclasses are more specific
• instanceof operator

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classroom use.
Extending Classes (2 of 2)

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 Overriding Superclass Methods (1 of 2)

• Create a subclass by extending an existing class

• A subclass contains data and methods defined in the original superclass
• Sometimes superclass data fields and methods are not entirely appropriate for
subclass objects
• Polymorphism
• The same method name is used to indicate different implementations

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classroom use.
 Overriding Superclass Methods (2 of 2)

• Override the method in the parent class

• Create a method in a child class that has the same name and parameter list as a
method in its parent class
• Subtype polymorphism
• The ability of one method name to work appropriately for different subclass objects of
the same parent class
• Override annotation (@Override)
• Tells compiler you are overriding a parent class method

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 Calling Constructors During Inheritance (1
of 3)
• When you instantiate an object that is a member of a subclass, you call at least
two constructors:
• The constructor for the base class
• The constructor for the extended class
• The superclass constructor must execute first
• When the superclass contains a default constructor, the execution of the
superclass constructor is transparent

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classroom use.
Calling Constructors During Inheritance (2
of 3)

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classroom use.
Calling Constructors During Inheritance (3
of 3)

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 Using Superclass Constructors
That Require Arguments (1 of 2)
• When you write your own constructor
• You replace the automatically supplied version
• When extending a superclass with constructors that require arguments
• The subclass must provide the superclass constructor with the arguments it needs

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 Using Superclass Constructors
That Require Arguments (2 of 2)
• When a superclass has a default constructor
• You can create a subclass with or without its own constructor
• When a superclass contains only constructors that require arguments
• You must include at least one constructor for each subclass you create
- The first statement within each constructor must call one of the superclass constructors

• Call the superclass constructor

• super(list of arguments);
• Keyword super
• Always refers to the superclass

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 Accessing Superclass Methods (1 of 2)

• Use the overridden superclass method within a subclass

• Use the keyword super to access the parent class method

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Accessing Superclass Methods (2 of 2)

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 Comparing this and super

• Think of the keyword this as the opposite of super within a subclass

• When a parent class contains a method that is not overridden
• The child can use the method name with super or this, or alone

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 Employing Information Hiding (1 of 3)

• Within the Student class:

• The keyword private precedes each data field
• The keyword public precedes each method
• Information hiding
• The concept of keeping data private
• Data can be altered only by methods you choose and only in ways that you can control

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Employing Information Hiding (2 of 3)

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 Employing Information Hiding (3 of 3)

• When a class serves as a superclass

• Subclasses inherit all data and methods of the superclass
- Except private members of the parent class are not accessible within a child class’s methods

• Keyword protected
• Provides an intermediate level of security between public and private access
• Can be used within its own class or in any classes extended from that class
• Cannot be used by “outside” classes

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 Methods You Cannot Override

• static methods
• final methods
• Methods within final classes

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 A Subclass Cannot Override static
Methods in Its Superclass (1 of 2)
• A subclass cannot override methods declared static in the superclass
• A subclass can hide a static method in the superclass by declaring a
static method with the same signature as the static method in the
superclass
• Then call the new static method from within the subclass or in another class by
using a subclass object
• Within the static method of a subclass, you cannot access the parent method
using the super object
• Although a child class cannot inherit its parent’s static methods, it can
access its parent’s static methods in the same way any other class can

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classroom use.
A Subclass Cannot Override static
Methods in Its Superclass (2 of 2)

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 A Subclass Cannot Override final
Methods in Its Superclass (1 of 2)
• A subclass cannot override methods declared final in the superclass
• final modifier
• Does not allow the method to be overridden
• Virtual method calls
• Default in Java
• The method used is determined when the program runs
• The object type might not be known until the method executes

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 A Subclass Cannot Override final
Methods in Its Superclass (2 of 2)
• Advantages to making the method final:
• The compiler knows only one version of the method exists
• The compiler knows which method version will be used
• A program’s performance can be optimized by removing calls to final methods
- Inlining the code: each method call is replaced with the expanded code of the method’s
definition

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 A Subclass Cannot Override Methods
in a final Superclass (1 of 2)
• When a class is declared final:
• All of its methods are final regardless of which access modifier precedes the
method name
• It cannot be a parent class

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classroom use.
A Subclass Cannot Override Methods
in a final Superclass (2 of 2)

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 Don’t Do It

• Don’t capitalize the o in the instanceof operator

• Don’t try to directly access private superclass members from a subclass
• Don’t forget to call a superclass constructor from within a subclass constructor
if the superclass does not contain a default constructor
• Don’t try to override a final method in an extended class
• Don’t try to extend a final class

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classroom use.
 Summary (1 of 2)

• Inheritance
• A mechanism that enables one class to inherit both the behavior and the attributes of
another class
• Keyword extends
• Used to achieve inheritance in Java
• Polymorphism
• The act of using the same method name to indicate different implementations

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classroom use.
 Summary (2 of 2)

• Use a superclass method within a subclass

• Use the keyword super to access it
• Information hiding
• The concept of keeping data private
• Keyword protected
• Provides an intermediate level of security between public and private access
• A subclass cannot override methods that are:
• Declared static in a superclass
• Declared final or declared within a final class

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classroom use.