Inheritence
Home Up Search Java 2 API C++ Resources
  • Inheritance is an "is a" relationship between two classes of objects.  
  • A subclass ("child")inherits from its superclass ("parent"). 
  • A subclass automatically has the ability to do everything its parent can do.   That is, a child inherits all the parents non-private methods.
  • A subclass automatically knows every its superclass knows.   That is, a child inherits all its parents non-private properties.
  •  A subclass can override its superclass's methods and provide new behavior by declaring a method with the identical signature as its parent.
  • Wherever a superclass is used, the subclass can be substituted.   This is polymorphism