Java Inheritance Example
As displayed in the above figure, Programmer is the subclass and Employee is the
superclass.
The relationship between the two classes is Programmer IS-A Employee. It means
that Programmer is a type of Employee.
class Employee{
float salary=40000;
}
class Programmer extends Employee{
int bonus=10000;
public static void main(String args[]){
Programmer p=new Programmer();
System.out.println("Programmer salary is:"+p.salary);
System.out.println("Bonus of Programmer is:"+p.bonus);
}
}
Output :
Programmer salary is: 40000.0
Bonus of programmer is: 10000
In the above example, Programmer object can access the field of own class as well
as of Employee class i.e. code reusability.
There is another example below :
Here is the sample code for a possible implementation of a Bicycle class that was
presented in the Classes and Objects lesson:
public class Bicycle {
// the Bicycle class has three fields
public int cadence;
public int gear;
public int speed;
// the Bicycle class has one constructor
public Bicycle(int startCadence, int startSpeed, int startGear) {
gear = startGear;
cadence = startCadence;
speed = startSpeed;
}
// the Bicycle class has four methods
public void setCadence(int newValue) {
cadence = newValue;
}
public void setGear(int newValue) {
gear = newValue;
}
public void applyBrake(int decrement) {
speed -= decrement;
}
public void speedUp(int increment) {
speed += increment;
}
A class declaration for a MountainBike class that is a subclass of Bicycle might look
like this:
public class MountainBike extends Bicycle {
// the MountainBike subclass adds one field
public int seatHeight;
// the MountainBike subclass has one constructor
public MountainBike(int startHeight,
int startCadence,
int startSpeed,
int startGear) {
super(startCadence, startSpeed, startGear);
seatHeight = startHeight;
}
// the MountainBike subclass adds one method
public void setHeight(int newValue) {
seatHeight = newValue;
}
}
MountainBike inherits all the fields and methods of Bicycle and adds the
field seatHeight and a method to set it. Except for the constructor, it is as if you
had written a new MountainBike class entirely from scratch, with four fields and
five methods. However, you didn't have to do all the work. This would be
especially valuable if the methods in the Bicycle class were complex and had
taken substantial time to debug.
Inheritance and constructors in Java
In Java, constructor of base class with no argument gets automatically called in derived
class constructor. For example, output of following program is:
Base Class Constructor Called
Derived Class Constructor Called
// filename: Main.java
class Base {
Base() {
System.out.println("Base Class Constructor Called ");
}
class Derived extends Base {
Derived() {
System.out.println("Derived Class Constructor Called
");
}
}
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Derived d = new Derived();
}
But, if we want to call parameterized contructor of base class, then we can call it
using super(). The point to note is base class constructor call must be the first
line in derived class constructor. For example, in the following program,
super(_x) is first line derived class constructor.
// filename: Main.java
class Base {
int x;
Base(int _x) {
x = _x;
}
class Derived extends Base {
int y;
Derived(int _x, int _y) {
super(_x);
y = _y;
}
void Display() {
System.out.println("x = "+x+", y = "+y);
}
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Derived d = new Derived(10, 20);
d.Display();
}
Output:
x = 10, y = 20
Terms used in Inheritance
o Class: A class is a group of objects which have common properties. It is a
template or blueprint from which objects are created.
o Sub Class/Child Class: Subclass is a class which inherits the other
class. It is also called a derived class, extended class, or child class.
o Super Class/Parent Class: Superclass is the class from where a
subclass inherits the features. It is also called a base class or a parent class.
o Reusability: As the name specifies, reusability is a mechanism which
facilitates you to reuse the fields and methods of the existing class when
you create a new class. You can use the same fields and methods already
defined in the previous class.
The syntax of Java Inheritance
class Subclass-name extends Superclass-name
{
//methods and fields
}
The extends keyword indicates that you are making a new class that derives from
an existing class. The meaning of "extends" is to increase the functionality.
In the terminology of Java, a class which is inherited is called a parent or
superclass, and the new class is called child or subclass.
