Object-Oriented Programming: Application to
the Java Language
Inheritance
Definition and Benefits
• Inheritance
• A technique provided by programming languages to build a class
from one (or more) other classes by sharing its attributes and
operations.
• Benefits
• Specialization, enrichment: A new class reuses the attributes and
operations of an existing class while adding and/or modifying
specific operations for the new class.
• Redefinition: A new class redefines the attributes and operations
of an existing class to change its meaning and/or behavior for the
specific case defined by the new class.
• Reuse: Avoids rewriting existing code, especially when the source
code of the inherited class is not available.
Specialization of the “Voiture" class
• A priority vehicle is a car with a siren light.
• A priority vehicle responds to the same messages as the Car.
• You can turn on the siren light of a priority vehicle.
• An electric car is a car whose starting operation is different.
• An electric car responds to the same messages as the Car.
• An electric car is started by activating a circuit breaker.
Voiture
Voiture + demarre()
Inheritance relationship
VehiculePrioritaire VoitureElectrique
- gyrophare : booléen - disjoncteur : booléen
+ allumeGyrophare() + demarre()
Classes and subclasses
• An object of the class VehiculePrioritaire or VoitureElectrique is also an
object of the class Voiture, so it has all the attributes and operations of the
Voiture class.
VehiculePrioritaire VoitureElectrique
- gyrophare : booléen - disjoncteur : booléen
+ allumeGyrophare() + demarre()
- puissance : entier - puissance : entier
Inherited from Car
Inherited from Car
- estDemarree : boolean - estDemarree : boolean
- vitesse : flottant - vitesse : flottant
+ deQuellePuissance() : + deQuellePuissance() :
entier entier
+ demarre() + demarre()
+ accelere(flottant) + accelere(flottant)
Classes and Subclasses: Terminology
• Definitions
• The class VehiculePrioritaire inherits from the class Voiture
• Voiture is the parent class and VehiculePrioritaire is the child class
• Voiture is the superclass of the class VehiculePrioritaire
• VehiculePrioritaire is a subclass of Voiture
• Attention
• An object of the VehiculePrioritaire class or VoitureElectrique
class is necessarily an object of the Voiture class
• An object of the Voiture class is not necessarily an object of the
VehiculePrioritaire or VoitureElectrique class
Generalization and Specialization
• Generalization expresses an "is-a" relationship between a class and its
superclass.
Voiture
Refinement
Super-class
Abstraction
VehiculePrioritaire
Sub-class
VehiculePrioritaire is
• Inheritance allows a Voiture
• to generalize in the sense of abstraction
• to specialize in the sense of refinement
Inheritance Example
• Example: Species
Mammifère
Cétacé Humain
Baleine Dauphin Etudiant Enseignant
Mobi Dick Ecco Raoul Mickaël
Inheritance and Java
• Simple Inheritance
• A class can inherit from only one other class
• In some other languages (e.g., C++), multiple inheritance is possible
• Use of the keyword extends after the class name
public class VehiculePrioritaire extends Voiture {
private boolean gyrophare;
...
Voiture
public void allumeGyrophare() {
gyrophare = true;
}
...
VehiculePrioritaire }
- gyrophare : booléen
+ allumeGyrophare() Do not try to inherit from multiple
classes (extends Voiture, Sante, ...)
as it does not work
Multilevel inheritance
public class Voiture {
...
Voiture public void demarre()
{
+ demarre() ...
}
}
public class VehiculePrioritaire
extends Voiture {
Ambulance am =
...
VehiculePrioritaire new Ambulance(...);
public void allumeGyrophare()
am.demarre();
+ allumeGyrophare() {
am.allumeGyrophare();
...
am.chercher("Raoul");
}
}
public class Ambulance
extends VehiculePrioritaire
Ambulance { private String malade;
- malade : String ...
public void chercher(String ma)
+ chercher(String) {
...
}
}
Overloading and overriding
• Inheritance
• A subclass can add new attributes and/or methods to those it inherits
(overloading is part of it).
• A subclass can override (overriding) the methods it inherits and provide
specific implementations for them.
• Reminder of overloading: the possibility to define methods with the same
name but different arguments (parameters and return value).
• Overriding: when the subclass defines a method whose name, parameters,
and return type are identical.
Overloaded methods can have different return
types as long as they have different arguments
Overloading and overriding
• An electric car is a car whose startup operation is different
• An electric car responds to the same messages as the Car.
• We start an electric car by activating a circuit breaker.
Voiture public class VoitureElectrique extends Voiture {
+ demarre()
private boolean disjoncteur;
...
public void demarre() {
disjoncteur = true;
VoitureElectrique }
...
- disjoncteur :
}
booléen
+ demarre()
Method overriding
Overloading and overriding
public class Voiture {
...
public void demarre() { Do not confuse overloading and overriding. In the
...
}
case of overloading, the subclass adds methods, while
} overriding “specializes” existing methods
Overriding Overloading
public class VoitureElectrique public class VehiculePrioritaire
extends Voiture { extends Voiture {
... ...
public void demarre() { public void demarre(int code) {
... ...
} }
} }
VoitureElectrique has “at VehiculePrioritaire has "at
most" one method less most" one more method
than VehiculePrioritaire than VoitureElectrique
Overriding with reuse
• Interest
• Overriding a method hides the code of the inherited method.
• Reuse the code of the inherited method using the super keyword.
• super allows explicit designation of an instance of a class whose type
is that of the parent class.
• Access to attributes and methods overridden by the current class but
that one wishes to use.
super.nomSuperClasseMethodeAppelee(...);
• Example of Voiture: limitations to resolve
• The call to the demarre method of VoitureElectrique only modifies the
disjoncteur attribute.
Overriding with reuse
• Example: method reuse
public class Voiture { The position of super
does not matter here.
private boolean estDemarree;
...
public void demarre() { public class VoitureElectrique extends Voiture {
estDemarree = true;
} private boolean disjoncteur;
} ...
Updating the attribute public void demarre() {
estDemarree disjoncteur = true;
super.demarre();
}
...
}
public class TestMaVoiture {
public static void main (String[] argv) {
// Déclaration puis création
VoitureElectrique laRochelle =
Sending a message by
new VoitureElectrique(...); calling demarre
laRochelle.demarre();
}
}
Usage of constructors: continuation
• Possibility, like methods, to reuse the code of the superclass
constructors.
• Explicit call to a constructor of the parent class inside a constructor of
the child class.
The call to the superclass
• Uses the keyword super constructor must absolutely be
made as the first statement
super(paramètres du constructeur);
• The implicit call to a constructor of the superclass is made when there is
no explicit call. Java implicitly inserts the super() call.
Usage of constructors: continuation
• Exemple : constructors voiture
public class Voiture {
...
The call to the constructor of the
super-class must absolutely be
public Voiture() { made as the first statement
this(7, new Galerie());
}
public Voiture(int p) {
this(p, new Galerie()); Implementation of the constructor
} of VoiturePrioritaire from Voiture.
public Voiture(int p, Galerie g) {
puissance = p;
moteur = new Moteur(puissance);
galerie = g; public class VoiturePrioritaire
... extends Voiture {
}
... private boolean gyrophare;
}
public VoiturePrioritaire(int p, Galerie g) {
super(p, null);
this.gyrophare = false;
}}
Usage of constructors: continuation
• Example: constructor chaining
public class A
{ public A()
{
System.out.println("Classe A");
}
}
public class B extends A {
public B(String message)
{
super(); // Appel implicite
System.out.println("Classe B");
System.out.println(message);
}
}
public class C extends B {
public C(String debut)
{
super("Message issu C" + debut);
} System.out.println("Classe C");
public class Test {
} System.out.println("Fin");
public static void main (String[] argv) {
new C(" et Message du main");
}
}
Usage of constructors: continuation
• Reminder: if a class does not explicitly define a constructor, it has a
default constructor
• Without parameters
• Which does nothing
• Useless if another constructor is explicitly defined
public class A { public A() {
public void afficherInformation() { super();
System.out.println("Des Informations..."); }
}
}
public class B extends A {
private String pInfo;
super();
public B(String pInfo) {
this.pInfo = pInfo;
}
}
public class Test {
public static void main (String[] argv)
{
new B("Message du main");
}
}
Usage of constructors: continuation
• Example: explicit constructor
public class Voiture {
... Explicit constructors
public Voiture(int p) {
this(p, new Galerie());
disable the default
} constructor
public Voiture(int p, Galerie g) {
puissance = p;
moteur = new Moteur(puissance); Error: there is no constructor
galerie = g; without parameters in Voiture
...
}
...
}
public class VoiturePrioritaire
extends Voiture {
private boolean gyrophare; super();
public VoiturePrioritaire(int p, Galerie g) {
this.gyrophare = false;
}
}
The Object class
• The Object class is the highest-level class in the inheritance hierarchy.
• Any class other than Object has a superclass.
• Every class inherits directly or indirectly from the Object class.
• A class that does not define an extends clause inherits from the Object
class.
Object
+ Class getClass()
public class Voiture extends Object { + String toString()
... + boolean
equals(Object)
public Voiture(int p, Galerie g) {
puissance = p;
+ int hashCode()
moteur = new Moteur(puissance); …
galerie = g;
... It is not necessary to
} explicitly write extends
...
Object
}
Before Overriding The Object class
public class Voiture { public class Test {
...
public static void main (String[] argv) {
public Voiture(int p) {
Voiture maVoiture = new Voiture(5);
this(p, new Galerie());
System.out.println(maVoiture);
} }
} public Sring toString()} {
return (this.getClass().getName() +
"@" + this.hashCode());
}
public class Voiture {
...
After Overriding
public Voiture(int p) {
this(p, new Galerie());
} .ln(maVoiture.toString());
public class Test {
public String toString() { public static void main (String[] argv) {
return("Puissance:" + p); Voiture maVoiture = new Voiture(5);
} System.out.println(maVoiture);
} }
}
Overriding the
toString() method
Access rights to attributes and methods
• Example of Voiture: the limitations to resolve
• demarre() is available in the VehiculePrioritaire class That means
it can start without entering the code!!!
• Solution: protect the demarre() method in the Voiture class
• Implementation
• Use the protected keyword before the definition of methods
and/or attributes
• Members are accessible within the class where they are defined,
in all its subclasses
Voiture
# demarre()
The method demarre() is not
accessible publicly in an object
VehiculePrioritaire VehiculeElectrique
of class VehiculePrioritaire
+ demarre(int code) + demarre()
Access rights to attributes and methods
• Example: access to methods
public class VoiturePrioritaire
public class Voiture { extends Voiture {
private boolean estDemarree; private int codeVoiture;
...
public void demarre(int code) {
protected void demarre() { if (codeVoiture == code) {
estDemarree = true; super.demarre();
} };
} }
}
public class TestMaVoiture {
public static void main (String[] argv) {
// Déclaration puis création de maVoiture
VehiculeElectrique laRochelle = new VehiculeElectrique(...);
larochelle.demarre(); // Appel le demarre de VehiculeElectrique
VehiculePrioritaire pompier = new VehiculePrioritaire(...);
pompier.demarre(1234); // Appel le demarre VoiturePrioritaire
pompier.demarre(); // Erreur puisque demarre n’est pas public
}}
Final methods and classes
• Definition
• Usage of the final keyword
• Method: prevent potential overriding of a method
public final void demarre();
• Class: prevent any specialization or inheritance of the
concerned class
public final class VoitureElectrique extends
Voiture {
...
}
The String class, for
example, is final
