Inheritance, Abstract Classes and Interfaces

Inheritance, abstract classes and interfaces
R. Grin
Inheritance
Java: inheritance and polymorphism
page 2
Reusability
q If you get a compiled A a = new A(); int y = a.compute(x); q But, sometimes, you would like to modify slightly the behavior of the instances of A q It is not possible if you have not got the source code
Inheritance
can use it: q Wi t h inheritance you can create an object whose behavior is slightly different from an instance of the A class: an instance of a subclass of A, w i t h
n new
A.class you
methods A methods
n modified
A.java
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Inheritance in Java
q Each class has one and only one superclass: no multiple i n h e r i t a n c e q The class inherits t h e members of its superclass q It is possible t o
n add
Inheritance in Java
q The keyword of a class:
extends indicates
the superclass
new methods some methods of its s u p e r c l a s s
class Subclass extends Superclass { } By default, a class inherits from t h e c l a s s Object
n modify
q But it is not possible to remove methods of the superclass
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Example superclass
public class Rectangle { private int x, y; // upper left point private int width, height;
// Constructors // Methods getX(), setX( int), // getWidth(), getHeight (), // contains(Point), intersects(Rectangle), // translate(int, int), toString() . . .
Example - subclass
public class ColoredRectangle extends Rectangle { private Color color; // new variable // Constructors . . . // New methods
public getColor() { return this.color; } public setColor(Color c) { this.color = c; }

// Overrided methods
public void draw(Graphics g) { g.drawRect(x, y, width, height ); } }

R. Grin Java: inheritance and polymorphism page 7
public void draw(Graphics g) { g.setColor(color); g.fillRect(getX(), getY(), getWidth(), getHeight()); }

}
Examples
q Superclass q q q
Bad use of inheritance

q Use inheritance to represent the relation i s- a between classes q Dont use inheritance just to reuse code q For example, dont do that:
Vehicle and subclasses Bicycle, Car and Truck Bicycle inherits from Vehicle and have several subclasses: MontainBike, RacingBike, Employe inherits from Person Image is the s u p e r c l a s s of GifImage et JpegImage
ParallelepipedicRectangle inherits Rectangle and adds a depth v a r i a b l e
from
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Overriding and Overloading

q Overriding is not the same as overloading :
n you
override a method when a method in a
subclass has exactly the same signature as an inherited method

n you
Overriding methods
overload a method when another method has
the same name but a different signature
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The super keyword

q In a method, the
Constraints about redefinitions (1)

q In Java, the return type must be exactly the same as the return type of the overridden method
super
keyword can be used to
manipulate a method of the superclass, overridden (or not) in the current class:
int m(int i) { return 500 + super.m(i); }
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Constraints about redefinitions (2)

q V isibility keywords : the overriding method cannot be less accessible than the overridden method (for
e x a m p l e it is not possible to declare private a method that overrides a public method)
Constructor Chaining
q E xceptions : the overriding method cannot declare throwing more exceptions than the overridden method declares (subclasses are allowed)
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First instruction of a constructor

q The first instruction of a constructor is a call to
na
Superclass
public class Rectangle { private int x, y, weight, height; public Rectangle(int x, int y, int weight, int height) { this.x = x; this.y = y; this.weight = weight; this.height = height; } . . . }
constructor of the s u p e r c l a s s:
super(...)
n another
constructor of the current class:
this(...)
q Otherwise, the compiler adds an implicit call to the constructor without parameter of the superclass
q the first instruction, explicit or implicit, is a call to a

constructor of the mother class
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Constructors of the subclass

public class ColoredRectangle extends Rectangle { private Color couleur;
Implicit call of the constructor without parameter of the superclass

q If the first instruction of a constructor is neither super() nor this(), the compiler adds an implicit call to the constructor without parameters of the superclass
public ColoredRectangle(int x, int y, int weight, int height, Color color) { super(x, y, weight, height); this.color = color; } public ColoredRectangle (int x, int y, int weight, int height) { this(x, y, weight, height, Color.black);
} . . . }
A constructor of the s u p e r c l a s s is a l w a y s
executed before the other instructions of the constructor
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The really first instruction executed by a constructor

q But the first instruction executed by the constructor of the superclass is the call to a constructor of the superclass of the s u p e r c l a s s q So, the really first instruction executed by a constructor is the constructor of the class Object
Protected access
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What is inherited ?
q If B extends A, it inherits of all the members of A (but not the constructors) q But, B cannot access private members of the A class; these members will be implicitly used by B, but B will not be able to name or to manipulate them q
Access to protected members

q If a class declares subclasses
protected
one of its member
(or constructor), this member will be accessible by its
protected
gives also access to the member to all
the classes of t h e s a m e p a c k a g e q Precision: if the subclass is not in the same package, instances of the subclass will not have access to the protected m e m b e r s for the instances of the superclass
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Example
class A { . . . protected int m() { . . . } } class B extends A { . . . public int m2() { int i = m(); // always allowed A a = new A(); i += a.m(); // not always allowed . . . when is it allowed? }
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Object class
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Object class
q
toString method
q
java.lang.Object
is the root of the inheritance hierarchy: the s u p e r c l a s s of all the classes
public String toString()

returns a description of the instance
Object
q Very useful for debugging q Must be overridden by almost all the classes
class has no instance or class variable
q All the methods of the by all the classes
Object
class are inherited
q The more often used methods of
Object
are:
toString() n equals()
n
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equals method
q
equals and hashcode methods

q Specification of Java: if 2 objects are equal, they must have the same h a s h c o d e q So, if equals is overridden, h a s h c o d e must be overridden too q It is not always easy to override the h a s h c o d e method
public boolean equals(Object object) returns true if object is equal to this, the
current instance, according to an equality relation
q Example: 2 instances of Fraction are equal if q
f1.num
f2.den = f1.den In the Object class,

x obj1.equals(obj2)
f2.num
obj1 == obj2
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Example of toString and equals

public class Fraction { private int num, den; . . . public String toString() { return num + "/" + den; } public boolean equals (Object o) { if (! (o instanceof Fraction)) return false; return num * ((Fraction)o).den == den * ((Fraction)o).num; } a/b = c/d }
R. Grin Java: inheritance and polymorphism
Example of hashCode
public int hashCode() { /* Reduce the fraction */ Fraction f = reduce(); return (17 + f.num * 37) * 37 + f.den; } }
a.d = b.cpage 31
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getClass() method
q q
public Class getClass()

returns the class of the instance
java.lang.Class
class
contains a
getName()
method which returns the qualified name of the
Polymorphism
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A question
q Suppose that
Polymorphism
q It is the fact that the same call to a method in the code, can be executed by different methods q For instance,
A and that t h e method m() of B Which method m() will be executed in the following code, the one of A or of B ?
extends
A is
overridden in
A a = new B(5); a.m();
a is an object of class B but declared as an A
A a = x.f(); a.m();
f can return an instance of A or of any subclass of A
the method that will be executed can be the method m() of A or of any subclass of A
The method that is called depends only on the real type (B) of a (not the declared type, here A). So, the method from B will be executed
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Example of polymorphism
Empty method
Example of polymorphism (cont.)

public class Drawing { private Figure[] figures; . . . public void draw(Graphics g) { for (int i=0; I < figures.length; i++) { figures[i].draw(g); } } public static void main(String[] args) { Drawing drawing = new Drawing(30); . . . drawing.add(new Circle(center, radius)); drawing.add(new Rectangle(p2, width, height)); drawing.draw(g); } }
public class Figure { public void draw(Graphics g) {} Figure.java } public class Rectangle extends Figure { public void draw(Graphics g) { . . . Rectangle.java } public class Circle extends Figure { public void draw(Graphics g) { . . . Circle.java }
Static type checking and polymorphism

q When it encounters method
Advantage of polymorphism
q A good use of polymorphism can avoid a program with a lot of tests (if, switch/case) :
a.m() the
compiler must be
sure that the class of the object
contains a
m()
that the
q For instance, because of
figures[i].draw(g), it is necessary class Figure contains the method draw(Graphics)

q Else you will get an compilation error
for (int i = 0; i < figures.length; i++) { if (figures[i] instanceof Rectangle) { . . . // Draw a rectangle } else if (figures[i] instanceof Circle { . . . // Draw a circle } . . . }
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Advantage of polymorphism
q With polymorphism you can easily extend an application q For instance, if you add a new type of figure, you dont have to modify the code of the method draw of the figure:
Without polymorphism
q You will have to add code to draw the new type of
Drawing
class
else if (figures[i] instanceof Rhomb) { . . . // draw a rhomb }
public void draw(Graphics g) { for (int i=0; i < figures.length; i++) { figures[i].draw(g); } }
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Conclusion
q Polymorphism is a fundamental issue in Object Oriented Programming and the basis for an efficient use of inheritance q Polymorphism is achieved by the late binding mechanism: the method that will be called is determined at run time, not at compilation time
Cast
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Cast : conversion between classes

q To cast is to enforce the compiler to see an object with a certain type q In Java, the only allowed casts between objects are between subclasses and superclasses
UpCast: subclasses superclass

q An object is considered with the type of an ancestor class instead of its real type q It is always possible to perform an upcast (relation is- a of inheritance) q So, upcast can be implicit
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Example of upcast
public class Engineer extends Employee { . . . } public class Project { public void add(Employee employee) { . . . } . . . } // somewhere else Ingineer i1 = new Ingineer(2563, "John"); project.add(i1);
DownCast: superclass subclass

q An object is considered of a type of a subclass of its declaration class q A downcast is not always possible ; at runtime, the type of the object will be checked q Downcast is used to call a method of the subclass that does not exist in the superclass q A downcast must always be explicit
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Example of downcast
// Figures are added in an ArrayList ArrayList figures = new ArrayList(); figures.add(new Circle(center, radius)); figures.add(new Rectangle(p1, p2)); . . . // get(i) return an Object; a cast is // necessary to call the draw method ((Figure)figures.get(i) ).draw(g);
q q q q
Keyword final
final final final final
class: cannot have subclasses m e t h o d: cannot be overridden variable: cannot be modified after
initialization parameter: cannot be modified in the
method body
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Abstract classes and methods

q A m e t h o d is abstract (modifier implementation
abstract)
when you
only give its signature and its return type, not its q A class must be declared abstract method q Abstract classes are useful for classifying classes or for code factorization
Abstract classes
abstract if
it contains an
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Example of an abstract class

public abstract class Figure { public abstract void draw(Graphics g); . . . }
Interfaces
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Interfaces
q An interface is a 100% abstract class, without any variables q An interface can contain constants ( static
Example of interface
public interface Figure { public void draw(Graphics g); }
final )
q Methods and constants are necessarily (and implicitly) public q An interface can inherit (keyword from s e v e r a l interfaces
extends )
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Examples of interfaces from the API

public interface Comparable { int compareTo(Object o); } public interface MouseListener extends EventListener { void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e); void mouseEntered(MouseEvent e); void mouseExited (MouseEvent e); void mousePressed(MouseEvent e); void mouseReleased MouseEvent e); }
Implementation of an interface
q A class can implement (keyword one or s e v e r a l interfaces q If
implements)
C is
a class that implements an interface, it must
implement all the methods of the interface q Otherwise
must be declared abstract
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Example of an implementation
public class City implements Comparable { private String name; private int nbInhabitants; . . . public int compareTo(Object object) { return nbInhabitant s - (City)objet.nbInhabitants; } }
Interfaces are types

q An interface can be used exactly everywhere you can use a class name q An interface defines the services proposed by t h e class that implements it; It describes a behavior
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Polymorphism and interfaces

q For polymorphism, an interface plays the role of a superclass: the example of polymorphism works very well if the abstract class Figure is an interface
Using interfaces
q You can apply polymorphism with classes from different inheritance hierarchies if they implement a same interface q The advantage of interface is that a class can implement several interfaces
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Cast and interfaces

q We can cast ( upcast and downcast) between a class and an interface it implements (and upcast between an interface and Object ):
// upcast City Comparable Comparable c1 = new City("Cannes", 200000); Comparable c2 = new City("Nice", 500000);
. . .
Reuse
if (c1.compareTo(c2))
// downcast Comparable
// upcast Comparable

Object
City
System.out. println( (City )c2 .getNbInhabitants());
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How class C2 can reuse code of a class C1

q Inherit s from C1 q C o m p o s i t i o n: an instance variable of the C2 is of type C1 q Delegation: C2 delegates the execution of one of its methods to an instance of C1; t his instance can be
n an
Drawbacks with inheritance

q Static: if an object must play different roles at different moments, it is not possible to use inheritance For instance, if a person can be a pilot or a client of an airplane company, 3 classes Person, with 2 subclasses Client and Pilot are no use q Poor encapsulation for the superclass: often difficult to change the s u p e r c l a s s, especially if protected variables have been used q Not possible to inherit from a final class ( String for instance)
instance variable of C2 by the method of C2 to do the work
n created
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Advantages of inheritance
q Easy to use: basic mechanism of the language q Allow polymorphism (but also possible with interface) q Easy to understand if it represents a is - a relation q Flexible because you can modify inherited behavior (by overriding methods)
n Use n Use
Conclusion
q To reuse classes, inheritance to represent static is - a relations delegation and composition in the other
cases
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Inheritance, Abstract Classes and Interfaces

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Inheritance, abstract classes and interfaces

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

new methods some methods of its s u p e r c l a s s

class Subclass extends Superclass { } By default, a class inherits from t h e c l a s s Object

q But it is not possible to remove methods of the superclass

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

public getColor() { return this.color; } public setColor(Color c) { this.color = c; }

public void draw(Graphics g) { g.drawRect(x, y, width, height ); } }

public void draw(Graphics g) { g.setColor(color); g.fillRect(getX(), getY(), getWidth(), getHeight()); }

Bad use of inheritance

ParallelepipedicRectangle inherits Rectangle and adds a depth v a r i a b l e

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Overriding and Overloading

override a method when a method in a

subclass has exactly the same signature as an inherited method

overload a method when another method has

the same name but a different signature

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

The super keyword

Constraints about redefinitions (1)

keyword can be used to

int m(int i) { return 500 + super.m(i); }

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Constraints about redefinitions (2)

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

First instruction of a constructor

constructor of the current class:

q the first instruction, explicit or implicit, is a call to a

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Constructors of the subclass

Implicit call of the constructor without parameter of the superclass

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

The really first instruction executed by a constructor

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Access to protected members

one of its member

(or constructor), this member will be accessible by its

gives also access to the member to all

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

is the root of the inheritance hierarchy: the s u p e r c l a s s of all the classes

public String toString()

class has no instance or class variable

q All the methods of the by all the classes

class are inherited

q The more often used methods of

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

equals and hashcode methods

q Example: 2 instances of Fraction are equal if q

f2.den = f1.den In the Object class,

Java: inheritance and polymorphism

Java: inheritance and polymorphism