You may recall that we could inherit methods from another class in Python as follows:
class Child(Parent):
...In Java, inheritance works in a similar manner. However, instead of using brackets, we use the extends keyword:
class Child extends Parent {
...
}This means that class Child inherits all of the methods and variables defined in Parent, and that Child is an instance of Parent.
Throughout this chapter, we will be using the terms parent class/child class and superclass/subclass interchangeably.
Abstract classes are classes that are not meant to be initialized. In Python, we signified a method was abstract by having a method that would raise a NotImplementedError. Any non-abstract child class would then have to implement this method.
In Java, we use the abstract keyword to signify that a class is abstract: this enforces the fact that no instance of the class should be created, even if there are no abstract methods in the class! We also use the abstract keyword for any abstract methods.
abstract class AbstractClass{
abstract void something(); // Abstract methods have no body!
}Any non-abstract class that extends an abstract class then has to implement the body of all abstract methods.
class NonAbstract extends AbstractClass{
void something(){
... // Method body here!
}
}In Python, we could override a parent class' methods by redefining it. In Java, we do the same thing, but we also include an @Override annotation. This informs the compiler that method is meant to override an element in a superclass. While the annotation is not required, including it helps us prevent errors (e.g. misspelling the name of a method, forgetting a parameter, etc.)
For example, if we have the following parent class:
class Parent {
void something(){
... // Some method body here!
}
}We can override the method something as follows:
class Child extends Parent {
@Override
void something(){
... // Our new method body here!
}
}In Java, you can only extend a single class: you have one parent class, and that's it! However, sometimes we want to describe more behaviours for a class in a way that just one parent won't suffice.
For example, suppose we're writing a program to simulate plants. We would have a class called Plant: all Plants are able to breathe and grow! We could also have subclasses such as Wheat and Flowers with their own subclasses. However, suppose we want to indicate that some plants are edible for humans: for instance Corn would have an eat method, and so would Basil. Not all plants are edible, so we can't add that method to Plant. We could define an EdiblePlant class, but then we would also need EdibleWheat, EdibleFlower, and so on: this isn't a very clean solution!
In cases where we want to define a property of a class, we can use interfaces. Interfaces are similar to classes, except they have no implementation details at all: only method signatures! They can also have variables, but these variables must be static and final. In addition, everything in an interface must be public.
For our example, we would define an Edible interface such as:
interface Edible {
void eat();
}And to use it, we would use the implements keyword:
class Corn extends Plant implements Edible {
void eat(){
... // Our implementation here!
}
}We can implement as many interfaces as we want! In addition, interfaces can also extend other interfaces (not implements -- an interface doesn't implement anything!)
As an example, some food can be steamed so we might want a Steamable interface. These are also edible, so we could do the following:
interface Steamable extends Edible {
void steam();
}Any class that implements Steamable must then have both a steam and eat method!
In Python, we could use super() to refer to methods in the parent class. For instance, we could use super().__init__() to call the parent constructor or super().method() to call the parent's method.
In Java, we have the super keyword that functions in a similar way. If we want to call a parent's constructor, we use super(), or super(a, b, c) if we needed to pass in some parameters. If we wanted to call a parent's method, we would use super.method()!
Note the difference between Python and Java: super() is used in Python and has brackets while super is used in Java with no brackets!
When extending another class, Java requires a call to a superclass' constructor to be made in the subclass' constructor. Furthermore, this call must be the very first thing done. If no constructor call is explicitly made in the subclass' constructor, than an implicit call the super() will be made.
For instance, this code:
class Child extends Parent {
int attribute1;
int attribute2;
public Child(int a, int b) {
// There's no super() call here, but it's implicit!
this.attribute1 = a;
this.attribute2 = b;
}
}Would be equivalent to:
class Child extends Parent {
int attribute1;
int attribute2;
public Child(int a, int b) {
super(); // What happens if Parent has no empty constructor?
this.attribute1 = a;
this.attribute2 = b;
}
}If Parent didn't have a constructor that takes no arguments, then an error would be raised during compilation. It's best to explicitly include our super(...) calls in our constructors! This way we know precisely which constructor is being called by our subclass.
Polymorphism is the ability of an object to take many forms. We consider an object to be polymorphic if it passes multiple instanceof tests. For example, if we had the following code:
class Dog extends Canine implements Domesticatable {...}Then a Dog is also a Canine (which might have further superclasses like Animal)! It's also Domesticatable, and would pass instanceof tests for all of these types.
An example of polymorphism in use is when we have a variable whose value may be of a type other than the variable's type itself: for example being a subclass of that type or if the type in question is an interface, a class that implements it.
As an example, the following would exhibit polymorphism:
Animal[] animals = {new Cat(), new Dog(), new Axolotl()};
for (Animal a : animals){
a.eat(); // 'a' in this line of code can have various types!
}Even though we have multiple types of objects, we can deal with them in a uniform matter. If we didn't have polymorphism here, we wouldn't be able to have such a simple and clean loop!
Unlike in Python, all variables have a declared type in Java. Often, we'll want to convert between the types used: sometimes a more general superclass is better for one situation, but a subclass is better in another. Casting is when we change the type of an object to another, often in order to access more specific functionality.
For example, suppose we have the Animal example from 3.4., but we want a Cat to purr after eating. We could do the following:
Animal[] animals = {new Cat(), new Dog(), new Axolotl()};
for (Animal a : animals){
a.eat();
if (a instanceof Cat){
((Cat) a).purr();
}
}The (Cat) a converts a into the type Cat, allowing us to use the Cat method purr()! This specific type of casting is called downcasting: we're casting the type of a variable into its subclass. The opposite of this is upcasting, which we did in the line Animal[] animals = {new Cat(), new Dog(), new Axolotl()}: the Cat, Dog, and Axolotl were all cast into a superclass.
We can also cast some primitives, such as converting an int into a double and vice versa:
int x = 1;
double y = 1.1;
double double_x = (double) x;
int int_y = (int) y;When we cast objects, we essentially 're-label' the type, but otherwise leave it unchanged. However, when we cast primitives, we're adjusting the value of the variable itself: the changes may potentially be irreversible!