Unit 9 - Inheritance

Inheritance

When a subclass shares methods and variables with a superclass

Diamond problem

A special rule in inheritance where a subclass can only inherit from one superclass

Class hierarchy

A structure created using inheritance, where one superclass can have multiple subclasses

Constructors

Methods used to initialize objects, not inherited from superclasses

Super keyword

A keyword used to call the constructor of the superclass with the parameters of the subclass

Method signature

The combination of a method's name and its parameters

Overriding methods

When a public method in the subclass has the same method signature as a public method in the superclass

@Override

An annotation used to indicate that a method overrides a method from a superclass

Inheritance hierarchies

A structure where changes in the top superclass affect all the subclasses beneath it

Polymorphism

The ability to assign an object in a subclass to a reference of the superclass

Object class

The superclass of all classes, part of java.lang, often modified or overwritten in subclasses