Chapter 3

Inheritance and Polymorphism

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 Inheritance
 Inheritance is one of the cornerstones of object-oriented
programming
 because it allows the creation of hierarchical classifications
 a class that is inherited is called a superclass.
 The class that does the inheriting is called a subclass
 A subclass inherits all of the instance variables and methods
defined by the superclass and adds its own, unique elements
 Advantages of Inheritance
 reuse
 enhancement,
 adaptation, etc
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 Two ways of expressing relationships
 Generalization/Specialization
 ‘is a” relationship
 Example: Circle is a shape

 Whole-part
 Part of or “has a” relationship
 Example: Employee class has a BirthDate class
 Called aggregation

 Inheritance Creates an is-a relationship

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 Shape
Superclass

3D_Shape 2D_Shape
Subclass

Subclass
Sphere Cube Rectangle Circle Triangle

Above: is-a
Circle is a 2D_Shape
below: has-a
Employee has a date

Employee Date
firstName day
lastName month
Birthdate year
Hiredate
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DaDu CoET Department of computer science OOP
Basics of Inheritance
 To inherit a class, you simply incorporate the definition of one class
into another by using the extends keyword
 The general form is:
Class SubClassName extends SuperClassName
{
// body of class
}
 Java does not support the multiple inheritance
 Subclasses cannot access private members

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Example
// This program uses inheritance to extend Box.
class Box {
double width;
double height;
double depth;
// construct clone of an object
Box(Box ob) { // pass object to constructor
width = [Link];
height = [Link];
depth = [Link];
}
// constructor used when all dimensions specified
Box(double w, double h, double d) {
width = w;
height = h;
depth = d;
}

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 // constructor used when no dimensions specified
Box() {
width = -1; // use -1 to indicate
height = -1; // an uninitialized
depth = -1; // box
}
// constructor used when cube is created
Box(double len) {
width = height = depth = len;
}
// compute and return volume
double volume() {
return width * height * depth;
}
}

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 // Here, Box is extended to include weight.
class BoxWeight extends Box {
double weight; // weight of box
// constructor for BoxWeight
BoxWeight(double w, double h, double d, double m) {
width = w;
height = h;
depth = d;
weight = m;
}
}

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 class DemoBoxWeight {
public static void main(String args[]) {
BoxWeight mybox1 = new BoxWeight(10, 20, 15, 34.3);
BoxWeight mybox2 = new BoxWeight(2, 3, 4, 0.076);
double vol;
vol = [Link]();
[Link]("Volume of mybox1 is " + vol);
[Link]("Weight of mybox1 is “+ [Link]);
[Link]();
vol = [Link]();
[Link]("Volume of mybox2 is " + vol);
[Link]("Weight of mybox2 is " + [Link]);
}
}

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Type Casting
 Syntax:
<Sub_Ref.> = (SubClassName)<sup_Ref.> ;
For example: Person p = new Employee();
Employee emp = (Employee)p;
 the super class reference variable should refer to a subclass
object.
 Otherwise it will compile correctly but there will be an error at
runtime

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 The protected Modifier
 Visibility modifiers determine which class members
are inherited and which are not
 Variables and methods declared with public visibility
are inherited; those with private visibility are not
 But public variables violate the principle of
encapsulation
 There is a third visibility modifier that helps in
inheritance situations: protected
 The protected modifier allows a member of a base
class to be inherited into a child
 Protected visibility provides
 more encapsulation than public visibility does
 the best possible encapsulation that permits inheritance

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 Example
Class Person { public void setAge(int i)
Private String firstName; {
Private String lastName; age = i;
Private int age; }
public String getfirsName(){ public setfirstName(String
return firstName; name)
{
}
firstName = name;
public String getlastName(){
}
return lastName;
public setlastName(String name)
}
{
public int getAge(){
lastName = name;
return age; }
} }
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 Subclass Student
class Student extends Person{
private String stuId;
public String getStuId( ){
return stuId;
}
public void setStuId(String id){
stuId = id;
}
Public void display(){
[Link]([Link]);
[Link]([Link]);
[Link](this age);
[Link]([Link]);
}

}
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class StudentTest{
public static void main(String args[]){
Student stud1 = new Student ();
Student stud2 = new Student();
Person per1 = new Person ();
[Link]([Link](“Alef”));
[Link]([Link](“Mulugeta”));
[Link]([Link](28));
[Link]([Link]());
[Link]([Link]());
// can not inherits class’s private members
[Link]([Link]);
[Link]([Link]());
// can not inherits class’s private members
[Link]([Link]);

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 [Link]([Link]());
[Link]([Link]()); // error
[Link](“ Kalid”);
[Link]([Link]());
}
}

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Method overloading and overriding
 In Java, one form of polymorphism refers to the fact
that you can have multiple methods with the same
name in the same class
 There are two kinds of polymorphism:
 Overloading
 Two or more methods with different signatures
 Overriding
 Replacing an inherited method with another
having the same signature

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Method Overriding
 when a method in a subclass has the same name and type
signature as a method in its superclass, then the method in the
subclass is said to override the method in the superclass
// Method overriding.
class A {
int i, j;
A(int a, int b) {
i = a;
j = b;
}
// display i and j
void show() {
[Link]("i and j: " + i + " " + j);
}
}

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 class B extends A {
int k;
B(int a, int b, int c) {
super(a, b);
k = c;
}
// display k – this overrides show() in A
void show() {
[Link]("k: " + k);
}
}
class Override { The output
public static void main(String args[]) {
B subOb = new B(1, 2, 3); k: 3
[Link](); // this calls show() in B
}
}

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 If you wish to access the superclass version of an overridden
function, you can do so by using super.
class B extends A {
int k;
B(int a, int b, int c) {
super(a, b);
k = c;
}
void show() {
[Link](); // this calls A's show()
[Link]("k: " + k);
}
}
 output:
 i and j: 1 2 k: 3

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 The access specifiers for the overriding method can allow more
access than the overridden method, but not less
 For example, a protected method in the superclass can be made public
but not private
 it is a syntax error to override a method with a more restricted
access modifier
 Overloading vs. Overriding
 Don't confuse the concepts of overloading and overriding
 Overloading deals with multiple methods with the same name in the
same class, but with different signatures
 Overriding deals with two methods, one in a parent class and one in a
child class, that have the same signature
 Overloading lets you define a similar operation in different ways for
different data
 Overriding lets you define a similar operation in different ways for
different object types
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 Dynamic Method Dispatch
 is the mechanism by which a call to an overridden function is
resolved at run time, rather than compile time.
 Dynamic method dispatch is important because this is how Java
implements run-time polymorphism.
 Method overriding forms the basis for this concept
 When an overridden method is called through a superclass
reference, Java determines which version of that method to execute
based upon the type of the object being referred to at the time the
call occurs
 When different types of objects are referred to, different versions of
an overridden method will be called

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 // Dynamic Method Dispatch
class A {
void callme() {
[Link]("Inside A's callme method");
}
}
class B extends A {
// override callme()
void callme() {
[Link]("Inside B's callme method");
}
}

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 class C extends A {
// override callme()
void callme() {
[Link]("Inside C's callme method");
}
}
class Dispatch {
public static void main(String args[]) {
A a = new A(); // object of type A
B b = new B(); // object of type B
C c = new C(); // object of type C
A r; // obtain a reference of type A
r = a; // r refers to an A object
[Link](); // calls A's version of callme
r = b; // r refers to a B object

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 [Link](); // calls B's version of callme
r = c; // r refers to a C object
[Link](); // calls C's version of callme
}
}
 The output from the program is shown here:
Inside A's callme method
Inside B's callme method
Inside C's callme method

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Why Overridden Methods?
 Overridden methods are another way that Java implements the "one
interface, multiple methods" aspect of polymorphism
 by combining inheritance with overridden methods, a superclass can
define the general form of the methods that will be used by all of its
subclasses.
 Dynamic, run-time polymorphism is one of the most powerful
mechanisms that object oriented design brings to bear on code reuse
and robustness.

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 Polymorphism
 The term polymorphism literally means "having many forms“
 also called dynamic binding or late binding or run-time binding
 allows to create versatile software designs
 In OOP, polymorphism promotes code reuse by calling the method
in a generic way.
 Suppose we create the following reference variable:
Animal myPets;
 Java allows this reference to point to an Animal object, or to any
object of any compatible type
 This compatibility can be established using inheritance or using
interfaces
 Careful use of polymorphic references can lead to elegant, robust
software designs

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References and Inheritance
 An object reference can refer to an object of its class, or
to an object of any class related to it by inheritance
 For example, if the Shape class is used to derive a class
called Circle, then a Shape reference could be used
to point to a Circle object.
Shape
Shape s;
s = new Circle();

Circle

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 Assigning a child object to a parent reference is considered to
be a widening conversion, and can be performed by simple
assignment
 Assigning a parent object to a child reference can be done
also, but it is considered a narrowing conversion and must
be done with a cast
 The widening conversion is the most useful

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 Polymorphism via Inheritance
 It is the type of the object being referenced, not the
reference type, that determines which method is invoked
 Suppose the Shape class has a method called area,
and the Circle class overrides it.
 Now consider the following invocation:
[Link]();
 If s refers to a Shape object, it invokes the Shape
version of area; if it refers to a Circle object, it
invokes the Circle version.
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Polymorphism
 Consider the following inheritance

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Object Reference Conversion
 A polymorphic reference is a variable that can refer to
different types of objects at different points in time
 The method invoked through a polymorphic reference
can change from one invocation to the next
 All object references in Java are potentially
polymorphic
Account account1;
...
account1 = new SAccount(“s123”,”Tom”, 100, 0);
...
account1=new Account(“c123”,”Kim”,2000,1000);
 To enable methods to be called in a polymorphic way
Java allows a superclass reference to refer to a
subclass object.
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• As SAccount and CAccount extend the class Account both
of these statements are valid.

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Invoking methods through Superclass Reference
 When Account reference account1 referring to a
subclass object is used to invoke a method such
as withdraw(), the overridden withdraw() of that
subclassis invoked.
Account account1 = new
SAccount(“s123”,”Tom”,100, 0);
[Link](100); // withdraw of
SAccount invoked account1 = new
CAccount (“c343”,”Kim”,2000,1000);
[Link](200); // withdraw of
CAccount invoked

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Use of Polymorphism
Account[] accounts = new Account[3];
accounts[0] = new Account("a12345", "Charles", 1000);
accounts[1] = new SAccount("s12346", "Craig", 1200,
1000);
accounts[2] = new CAccount("c12347", "George", 200,
1000);
// Deduct fixed amount $500 from all accounts
for (inti=0; i<3; i++)
accounts[i].withdraw(500);
Which withdraw() methods are called ?
Though accounts[i] is an Account reference in Java,
actual method called is determined at run-time based
on the type of object being referred.
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Polymorphism via Interfaces
 An interface name can be used as the type of an
object reference variable.
Speaker current;
 The current reference can be used to point to any
object of any class that implements the Speaker
interface.
 The version of speak that the following line
invokes depends on the type of object that
current is referencing.
[Link]();

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Polymorphism via Interfaces
 Suppose two classes, Lecturer and Politician, both
implement the Speaker interface, providing distinct
versions of the speak method.
 In the following code, the first call to speak invokes one
version and the second invokes another:

Speaker guest = new lecturer();

[Link]();
guest = new politician();
[Link]();

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public class Plant {
public void grow() {
[Link](“Plant growing”);
}
}
class Tree extends Plant {
public void grow() {
[Link](“Tree growing”);
}
public void leavesShade() {
[Link](“Leaves Shading”);
}
}

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public class App {
public static void main(String [] args) {
Plant plant1 = new Plant();
Tree tree = new Tree();
Plant plant2 = tree;
[Link]();
doGrow(tree);
}
public static void doGrow (Plant plant) {
[Link]();
}
}

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Using super
 Whenever a subclass needs to refer to its immediate superclass, it
can do so by use of the keyword super
 super has two general forms.
 The first calls the superclass' constructor.
 The second is used to access a member of the superclass that has been
hidden by a member of a subclass.
 Using super to Call Superclass Constructors
 super(parameter-list);
 parameter-list specifies any parameters needed by the constructor in the
superclass.
 super( ) must always be the first statement executed inside a subclass‘
constructor.

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 // BoxWeight now uses super to initialize its Box attributes.
class BoxWeight extends Box {
double weight; // weight of box
// initialize width, height, and depth using super()
BoxWeight(double w, double h, double d, double m) {
super(w, h, d); // call superclass constructor
weight = m;
}
}
 When a subclass calls super( ), it is calling the constructor of its
immediate superclass.
 super( ) always refers to the superclass immediately above the
calling class.
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The second form of super
[Link]
 member can be either a method or an instance variable.
 This second form of super is most applicable to situations in which
member names of a subclass hide members by the same name in the
superclass.
// Using super to overcome name hiding.
class A {
int i;
}
// Create a subclass by extending class A.
class B extends A {
int i; // this i hides the i in A
B(int a, int b) {
super.i = a; // i in A
i = b; // i in B
}

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 void show() {
[Link]("i in superclass: " + super.i);
[Link]("i in subclass: " + i);
}
}
class UseSuper {
public static void main(String args[]) {
B subOb = new B(1, 2);
[Link]();
}
}
 This program displays the following:
i in superclass: 1
i in subclass: 2

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 Abstract Classes
 In certain situation, we want to properties of classes to be always
extended and used. Such classes are called Abstract Classes.
 An Abstract class is a conceptual class.
 An Abstract class cannot be instantiated – objects cannot be
created.
 Abstract classes provides a common root for a group of classes,
nicely tied together in a package:
 general form:
abstract type name(parameter-list);
 When a class contains one or more abstract methods, it must be
declared as abstract class.
 The abstract methods of an abstract class must be defined in its
subclass (called concrete class)
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 We cannot declare abstract constructors or abstract static
methods.
 Any subclass of an abstract class must either implement
all of the abstract methods in the superclass, or be itself
declared abstract.
 Example: Shape is an abstract class

Shape

Circle Rectangle
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The Shape Abstract Class

public abstract class Shape {

public abstract double area();
public void move() { // non-abstract method
// implementation
}
}

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public Circle extends Shape {
protected double r;
protected static final double PI =3.1415926535;
public Circle() { r = 1.0; }
public double area() {
return PI * r * r;
}
…}
public Rectangle extends Shape {
protected double w, h;
public Rectangle() {
w = 0.0; h=0.0; }
public double area() {
return w * h;
}}

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Abstract Classes Properties
 A class with one or more abstract methods is automatically
abstract and it cannot be instantiated.
 A class declared abstract, even with no abstract methods can
not be instantiated.
 A subclass of an abstract class can be instantiated if it
overrides all abstract methods by implementing them.
 A subclass that does not implement all of the superclass
abstract methods is itself abstract; and it cannot be
instantiated.
 Although abstract classes cannot be used to instantiate
objects, they can be used to create object references
 it must be possible to create a reference to an abstract class so
that it can be used to point to a subclass object.

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 Using final with Inheritance
 Using final to Prevent Overriding
 To disallow a method from being overridden, specify final as a modifier
at the start of its declaration.
 Methods declared as final cannot be overridden.
class A {
final void meth() {
[Link]("This is a final method.");
}
}
class B extends A {
void meth() { // ERROR! Can't override.
[Link]("Illegal!");
}
}

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 Methods declared as final can sometimes provide a
performance enhancement: The compiler is free to inline
calls to them because it "knows" they will not be
overridden by a subclass.
 When a small final function is called, often the Java
compiler can copy the bytecode for the subroutine directly
inline with the compiled code of the calling method,
 thus eliminating the costly overhead associated with a
method call
 Inlining is only an option with final methods.

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Using final to Prevent Inheritance
 We can prevent an inheritance of classes by other classes by
declaring them as final classes.
 Declaring a class as final implicitly declares all of its methods
as final, too.
 it is illegal to declare a class as both abstract and final
 since an abstract class is incomplete by itself and relies upon its
subclasses to provide complete implementations.
 This is achieved in Java by using the keyword final as follows:
final class Marks
{ // members
}
final class Student extends Person
{ // members
}
 Any attempt to inherit these classes will cause an error.

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 Final Class Members
 All methods and variables can be overridden by default
in subclasses.
 This can be prevented by declaring them as final using
the keyword “final” as a modifier. For example:
 final int marks = 100;
 final void display();
 This ensures that functionality defined in this method
cannot be altered any. Similarly, the value of a final
variable cannot be altered.

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 Interfaces
 Interface is a conceptual entity similar to a Abstract class.
 using interface, you can specify what a class must do, but
not how it does it.
 Can contain only constants (final variables) and abstract
method (no implementation) - Different from Abstract
classes.
 Use when a number of classes share a common interface.
 Each class should implement the interface.
 Any number of classes can implement an interface.
 One class can implement any number of interfaces
 Interfaces are designed to support dynamic method
resolution at run time
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 disconnect the definition of a method or set of methods
from the inheritance hierarchy
 Since interfaces are in a different hierarchy from classes,
it is possible for classes that are unrelated in terms of the
class hierarchy to implement the same interface.
 A class can implement any number of interfaces, but
cannot extend more than one class at a time.
 Therefore, interfaces are considered as an informal way
of realizing multiple inheritance in Java.
 Access modifier is either public or not used
 All methods and variables are implicitly public if the
interface, itself, is declared as public.
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Interface -Example

<<Interface>>
Speaker
speak()

Politician Priest Lecturer

speak() speak() speak()

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Interfaces Definition
 Syntax (appears like abstract class):
interface InterfaceName {
// Constant/Final Variable Declaration
// Methods Declaration – only abstract method
}

 Example:
interface Speaker {
public void speak( );
}

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Implementing Interfaces
 Interfaces are used like super-classes whose properties are
inherited by classes.
 To implement an interface, include the implements clause in a
class definition, and then create the methods defined by the
interface.
 The general form of a class that includes the implements clause:

class ClassName implements InterfaceName [, InterfaceName2, …]

{
// Body of Class
}
 If a class implements more than one interface, the interfaces are
separated with a comma
 The methods that implement an interface must be declared public

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 Implementing Interfaces Example
class Politician implements Speaker {
public void speak(){
[Link](“Talk politics”);
}
}
class Priest implements Speaker {
public void speak(){
[Link](“Religious Talks”);
}
}
class Lecturer implements Speaker {
public void speak(){
[Link](“Talks Object Oriented Design and Programming!”);
}
}
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 Partial Implementations
 If a class includes an interface but does not fully implement the
methods defined by that interface, then that class must be declared
as abstract.
 Extending Interfaces
 Like classes, interfaces can also be extended.
 This is achieved by using the keyword extends as follows:
interface InterfaceName2 extends InterfaceName1
{
// Body of InterfaceName2
}

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 // One interface can extend another.
interface A {
void meth1();
void meth2();
}
// B now includes meth1() and meth2() — it adds meth3().
interface B extends A {
void meth3();
}
// This class must implement all of A and B
class MyClass implements B {
public void meth1() {
[Link]("Implement
meth1().");
}
public void meth2() {
[Link]("Implement
meth2().");
}

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Inheritance and Interface Implementation
 A general form of interface implementation:
class ClassName extends SuperClass implements InterfaceName [,
InterfaceName2, …]
{
// Body of Class
}

 This shows a class can extended another class while

implementing one or more interfaces. It appears like a
multiple inheritance (if we consider interfaces as
special kind of classes with certain restrictions or
special features).

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