Chapter Three
Inheritance
Outline
Introduction
Super-classes and Sub-classes
Inheritable members
Using super
Inheritance hiding
Use of the final keyword with inheritance
Constructors in sub-classes
Introduction to
inheritance
Inheritance
Create a new class from an existing class.
Derive something specific from something generic.
A class can inherit the features of another class and add its
own modification
The existing class is called the parent class, or superclass, or
base class
The derived class is called the child class or subclass 4
Inheritance
Child inherits non-private
fields and method
Provide code re-usability
Creates is-a relationship,
meaning the child is a more
specific version of the parent
5
Type of Inheritance
6
Type of Inheritance
Single – single subclass extends from a single superclass
Multiple – single subclass extends from multiple super
classes. Impossible in java
Multilevel – subclass extends from a superclass and then
the same subclass acts as a superclass for another class
Hierarchical – multiple subclasses extend from a single
superclass
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How to implement inheritance?
The extends keyword is used to perform inheritance in Java.
Here class Car is child class and class Vehicle is parent class.
The class Car is inheriting the properties and methods of
Vehicle class.
class Car extends Vehicle {
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How to implement inheritance?
The extends keyword is used to perform inheritance in Java.
The class Car is inheriting the properties and methods of
Vehicle class.
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What will be inherited?
Protected and public members from the superclass class.
Members with default modifier can be inherited, if the two
classes are in the same package.
To access inherited members, we can simply use them directly
We don't need super class reference to access its members
10
How to call superclass members?
By using super keyword
Super keyword
invokes fields, constructor, and method of superclass
To invoke constructor use like method – super( )
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How to call superclass constructor?
Child class does not inherit super class constructors.
However, must call a superclass constructor in the inside of its
constructors!
If a subclass calls another constructor within itself, then the
called constructor must call the superclass constructor.
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How to call superclass constructor?
Invocation of a superclass constructor must be the first line in
the subclass constructor.
The syntax for calling a superclass constructor is
super(); the superclass no-argument constructor is called. or
super(parameter list); the superclass constructor with a
matching parameter list is called.
13
Java Inheritance
Hiding (Shadowing)
• Variable hiding
• when both the child and the parent classes have a
variable with the same name, the child's variable
hides the one from the parent.
Example
public class Parent { public class Child extends Parent{
String name = “abebe”; String name = “kebede”;
public String getParentName(){ public String getChildName(){
return name; return name;
} }
} }
Example
public class Test {
public static void main(String [] args){
Parent p = new Parent();
Parent c = new Child();
System.out.println( p.getParentName());
System.out.println( c.getChildName());
}
}
Output:
Abebe
Method hiding
• Works with static ones
• When a child class defines a static method with the
same signature as a static method in the parent class,
then the child's method hides the one in the parent
class.
• If method instance it is called method overriding
Example
public class Parent { public class Child extends Parent{
public static String name(){ public static String name(){
return “Parent”; return “Child”;
} }
} }
Example
public class Test {
public static void main(String [] args){
System.out.println( Child.name());
}
}
Output: Child
Final and abstract
keyword
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