Module-2

Syllabus:

Classes and Objects - Concepts of Classes, Objects, Constructors, Methods, This Keyword,
Garbage Collection, Overloading Methods and Constructors.

Inheritance - Base Class Object, Subclass, Member Access Rules, Super keyword, final
keyword, Method Overriding, Abstract Classes.

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 Class fundamentals
The class is at the core of Java. The class is a logical construct which defines the shape and
nature of an object.
A class defines a new data type. Once defined, this new type can be used to create objects
of that type. Thus, a class is a template for an object, and an object is an instance of a class.
The General Form of a Class
A class contains both the data and the code that operates on that data. A class is declared by use
of the class keyword. The general form of a class definition is:
class classname {
type instance-variable1; type instance-variable2;
// ...
type instance-variableN;
type methodname1(parameter-list) {
// body of method
}
type methodname2(parameter-list) {
// body of method
}
// ...
type methodnameN(parameter-list) {
// body of method
}
}
The data, or variables, defined within a class are called instance variables. The code is
contained within methods. Collectively, the methods and variables defined within a class are called
members of the class.
Variables defined within a class are called instance variables because each instance of the
class (that is, each object of the class) contains its own copy of these variables. Thus, the data for
one object is separate and unique from the data for another.
A Simple Class Example:
Here is a class called Box that defines three instance variables: width, height, and depth.
Currently, Box does not contain any methods.
class Box {
double width, height, depth;
}
A class defines a new type of data. In this case, the new data type is called Box. This name
can be used to declare objects of type Box. It is important to remember that a class declaration
only creates a template; it does not create an actual object.
To actually create a Box object, you will use a statement like the following:
Box mybox = new Box(); // create a Box object called mybox
After this statement executes, mybox will be an instance of Box. Thus, it will have
“physical” reality. Every Box object will contain its own copies of the instance variables width,
height, and depth.
To access variables, use the dot (.) operator along with the object name. The dot operator
links the name of the object with the name of an instance variable. To assign a value to the data
member the syntax is as follows.

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 Object . datamember;
Example: to assign the width variable of mybox the value 100, you would use the following
statement: mybox.width = 100;
/* A program that uses the Box class. Call this file BoxDemo.java
*/
class Box {
double width; double height; double depth;
}
// This class declares an object of type Box.
class BoxDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Box mybox = new Box(); double vol;
// assign values to mybox's instance variables
mybox.width = 10;
mybox.height = 20;
mybox.depth = 15;
// compute volume of box
vol = mybox.width * mybox.height * mybox.depth;
System.out.println("Volume is " + vol);
}
}
We should save this file that contains this program BoxDemo.java, because the main( )
method is in the class called BoxDemo, not in the class called Box.
To run this program, you must execute BoxDemo.class. When you do, you will see the
following Output:
Volume is 3000.0
Example2: To illustrate creation of class and object Output:
class student { Number =10
int no; Grade=c
char grade; float percent; percent=98
}
class demo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
student s=new student();
s.no=10; s.grade='c';
s.percent=98;
System.out.println(“number =”+s.no);
System.out.println(“grade =”+s.grade);
System.out.println(“percent =”+s.percent);
}
}
We should save this file that contains this program demo.java, because the main( ) method
is in the class called demo, not the class called student.
Declaring Objects:
With a class definition a new data type is created. We can use this type to declare objects
of that type. Obtaining objects of a class is a two-step process.

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 • First, declare a variable of the class type. This variable does not define an object. Instead, it
is simply a variable that can refer to an object.
• Second, acquire an actual, physical copy of the object and assign it to that variable. This can
be done using the new operator. The new operator dynamically allocates (that is, allocates at
run time) memory for an object and returns a reference to it.
This reference is, more or less, the address in memory of the object allocated by new. This
reference is then stored in the variable.This reference is then stored in the variable.

Example:
Box mybox; // declare reference to object
mybox = new Box(); // allocate a Box object
The first line declares mybox as a reference to an object of type Box. After this line
executes, mybox contains the value null, which indicates that it does not yet point to an actual
object. Any attempt to use mybox at this point will result in a compile-time error.
The next line allocates an actual object and assigns a reference to it to mybox. After the
second line executes, you can use mybox as if it were a Box object. But in reality, mybox simply
holds the memory address of the actual Box object.
The effect of these two lines of code is depicted in the figure as follows
The above two statements can also be combines into a single statement as follows
Box mybox = new Box();
The new operator:
The new operator dynamically allocates memory for an object. It has the general form:
class-var = new classname( );
Here, class-var is a variable of the class type being created. The classname is the name of
the class that is being instantiated. The class name followed by parentheses specifies the
constructor for the class. A constructor defines what occurs when an object of a class is created.
It is important to understand that new allocates memory for an object during run time. The
advantage of this approach (using new) is that the program can create as many or as few objects
as it needs during the execution of the program.
The distinction between a class and an object:
• A class creates a new data type that can be used to create objects. That is, a class creates a
logical framework that defines the relationship between its members.
• When we declare an object of a class, we are creating an instance of that class. Thus, a class
is a logical construct. An object has physical reality. (That is, an object occupies space in
memory.)

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 Assigning Object Reference Variables:
Object reference variables act differently than you might expect when an assignment takes place.
For example:
Box b1 = new Box();
Box b2 = b1;
Here b2 is being assigned a reference to a copy of the object referred to by b1. That means
b1 and b2 will both refer to the same object.
The assignment of b1 to b2 did not allocate any memory or copy any part of the original
object. It simply makes b2 refer to the same object as does b1. Thus, any changes made to the
object through b2 will affect the object to which b1 is referring, since they are the same object.
This situation is depicted here:
For example, a subsequent assignment to b1 will simply unhook b1 from the original object
without affecting the object or affecting b2.

For example:
Box b1 = new Box();
Box b2 = b1;
// ...
b1 = null;
Here, b1 has been set to null, but b2 still points to the original object.
Introducing Methods
Classes usually consist of two things: instance variables and methods. In most classes, the
instance variables are acted upon and accessed by the methods defined for that class. Thus the
methods that determine how a class’ data can be used.
The general form of a method is:
type name(parameter-list) {
// body of method
}
• Here, type specifies the type of data returned by the method. If the method does not return a
value, its return type must be void.
• The name of the method is specified by name.
• The parameter-list is a sequence of type and identifier pairs separated by commas.
Methods that have a return type other than void return a value to the calling routine using the
following form of the return statement:
return value;
Here, value is the value returned.
Adding a Method to the Box Class:
Methods provide access to data. In addition to defining methods that provide access to
data, we can also define methods that are used internally by the class itself.
// This program includes a method inside the box class. Output:
class Box { Volume is 3000.0

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 double width, height, depth;
// display volume of a box
void volume(){
System.out.print("Volume is ");
System.out.println(width * height * depth);
}
}
class BoxDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Box b1 = new Box();
// assign values to mybox1's instance variables
b1.width = 10;
b1.height = 20;
b1.depth = 15;
// display volume of box
b1.volume();
}
}
b1.volume(); invokes the volume( ) method ,that is, it calls volume( ) relative to the b1
object, using the object’s name followed by the dot operator.
When b1.volume( ) is executed, the Java run-time system transfers control to the code
defined inside volume( ). After all the statements inside volume ( ) have executed, control is
returned to the calling routine, and execution resumes with the line of code following the call.
Returning a Value:
A better way to implement volume( ) is to have it compute the volume of the box and return the
result to the caller.
class Box { Output:
double width, height, depth; Volume is 3000.0
// compute and return volume
double volume() {
return (width * height * depth);
}
}
class BoxDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Box b1 = new Box();
Double vol;
// assign values to mybox1's instance variables
b1.width = 10;
b1.height = 20;
b1.depth = 15;
// display volume of box
vol=b1.volume();
System.out.println("Volume is " + vol);
}
}

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 There are two important things to understand about returning values:
• The type of data returned by a method must be compatible with the return type specified by
the method. For example, if the return type of some method is boolean, you could not return
an integer.
• The variable receiving the value returned by a method (such as vol, in this case) must also be
compatible with the return type specified for the method.
Adding a Method That Takes Parameters:
Parameters allow a method to be generalized. That is, a parameterized method can operate
on a variety of data and/or be used in a number of slightly different situations.
class Box { Output:
double width, height, depth; Volume is 3000.0
// compute and return volume
double volume() {
return (width * height * depth);
}
// sets dimensions of box
void setDim(double w, double h, double d) {
width = w; height = h; depth = d;
}
}
class BoxDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Box b1 = new Box();
Double vol;
b1.setDim(10, 20, 15); // initialize box
System.out.println("Volume is " + b1.volume());
// display volume of box
}
}

➢ The setDim( ) method is used to set the dimensions of each box.

For example, when mybox1.setDim(10, 20, 15); is executed, 10 is copied into parameter w,
20 is copied into h, and 15 is copied into d.
➢ Inside setDim( ) the values of w, h, and d are then assigned to width, height, and depth,
respectively.
It is important to keep the two terms parameter and argument straight.
A parameter is a variable defined by a method that receives a value when the method is called.
For example, setDim(double w, double h, double d) → where w, h, d are parameters
An argument is a value that is passed to a method when it is invoked.
For example, setDim(10, 20, 15);passes 10,20,30 as arguments.
Constructors:
It can be tedious to initialize all of the variables in a class each time an instance is created.
Automatic initialization of data members of a class is performed through the use of a constructor.
• A constructor initializes an object immediately upon creation.
• A Constructor has the same name as the class name.
• Constructor syntactically similar to a method.

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 • Constructor is automatically called when the object is created before the new operator
completes.
• Constructors have no return type, not even void. This is because the implicit return type of
a class’ constructor is the class type itself.
/* Here, Box uses a constructor to initialize the dimensions of a box. */ Output:
class Box { Constructing Box
double width, height, depth; Constructing Box
// This is the constructor for Box. Volume is 1000.0
Box() { Volume is 1000.0
System.out.println("Constructing Box");
width = 10; height = 10; depth = 10;
}
// compute and return volume
double volume() {
return width * height * depth;
}
}
class BoxDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// declare, allocate, and initialize Box objects
Box b1 = new Box(); Box b2 = new Box();
double vol;
vol = b1.volume(); // get volume of first box
System.out.println("Volume is " + vol);
vol = b2.volume(); // get volume of second box
System.out.println("Volume is " + vol);
}
}

let’s re-examine the new operator. As you know, when you allocate an object, you use the
following general form:
class-var = new classname( );
Now you can understand why the parentheses are needed after the class name. What is actually
happening is that the constructor for the class is being called. Thus, in the line
Box b1 = new Box();
new Box( ) is calling the Box( ) constructor. When you do not explicitly define a constructor for
a class, then Java creates a default constructor for the class.
The default constructor automatically initializes all instance variables to zero. The default
constructor is often sufficient for simple classes, but it usually won’t do for more sophisticated
ones. Once you define your own constructor, the default constructor is no longer used.
Parameterized Constructors:
The default constructor (Box()) in the preceding example does initialize a Box object. But
it is not very useful because all boxes have the same dimensions. What is needed is a way to
construct Box objects of various dimensions. The easy solution is to add parameters to the
constructor.
A constructor which takes parameters is called a parameterized constructor.

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 class Box { Output:
double width, height, depth; Volume is 3000.0
// This is the constructor for Box. Volume is 162.0
Box(double w, double h, double d) {
width = w; height = h; depth = d;
}
// compute and return volume
double volume() {
return width * height * depth;
}
}
class BoxDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// declare, allocate, and initialize Box objects
Box b1 = new Box(10, 20, 15);
Box b2 = new Box(3, 6, 9);
double vol;
// get volume of first box
vol = b1.volume();
System.out.println("Volume is " + vol);
// get volume of second box
vol = b2.volume();
System.out.println("Volume is " + vol);
}
}
Each object is initialized as specified in the parameters to its constructor.
For example, in the following line, Box b1 = new Box(10, 20, 15);
the values 10, 20, and 15 are passed to the Box( ) constructor when new creates the object.
Thus, b1’s copy of width, height, and depth will contain the values 10, 20, and 15, respectively.
The this Keyword and Instance Variable Hiding
• The keyword ‘this’ is used inside any method to refer to the current object.
• That is, ‘this’ keyword is always a reference to the object on which the method was invoked.
• You can use this anywhere a reference to an object of the current class’ type is permitted.
• Whenever the formal parameters and data members of a class are similar, to differentiate data
members of a class from formal parameters, the data members of the class are preceded by
"this".
class Test { Output:
int a,b; a= 100 this.a= 100
Test(int a,int b) { //parameterized constructor a= 100 this.a= 110
System.out.println(" In parameterized constructor"); 110
this.a=a; 110
this.b=b;
System.out.println(“a= ”+a+” this.a= “+this.a);
this.a=this.a+10;
System.out.println(“a= ”+a+” this.a= “+this.a);
}

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 void display() {
System.out.println(a);// Internally treated as this.a
System.out.println(this.a);
}
}
class ThisDemo {
public static void main(String a[]) {
Test t=new Test(100,200); t.display();
}
}

Garbage Collection
• Since objects are dynamically allocated by using the new operator, you might be wondering
how such objects are destroyed and their memory released for later reallocation.
• In some languages, such as C++, dynamically allocated objects must be manually released by
use of a delete operator.
• Java takes a different approach which handles deallocation automatically. The technique that
accomplishes this is called garbage collection.
• Garbage collection works like this: when no references to an object exist, that object is
assumed to be no longer needed, and the memory occupied by the object can be reclaimed.
• Garbage collection only occurs sporadically (if at all) during the execution of your program.
It will not occur simply because one or more objects exist that are no longer used.
• Different Java run-time implementations will take varying approaches to garbage collection,
but for the most part, you should not have to think about it while writing your programs.

The finalize( ) Method

Sometimes an object will need to perform some action when it is destroyed. To do that Java
provides a mechanism called finalization. To add a finalizer to a class, simply define the finalize()
method. The Java run time calls that method whenever it is about to recycle an object of that class.
The finalize( ) method has this general form:
protected void finalize( ) {
// finalization code here
}
Here, the keyword protected is a specifier that prevents access to finalize( ) by code defined
outside its class. It is important to understand that finalize( ) is only called just prior to garbage
collection. It is not called when an object goes out-of-scope, for example. This means that you
cannot know when—or even if—finalize( ) will be executed.
Overloading Methods:
• In Java it is possible to define two or more methods within the same class that share the same
name, as long as their parameter declarations are different. This process is referred to as
method overloading.
• Method overloading is one of the ways that Java implements polymorphism.
• When an overloaded method is invoked, Java uses the type and/or number of arguments to
determine which version of the overloaded method to actually call. Thus, overloaded methods
must differ in the type and/or number of their parameters.
• While overloaded methods may have different return types, the return type alone is

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 insufficient to distinguish two versions of a method.
• When Java encounters a call to an overloaded method, it simply executes the version of the
method whose parameters match the arguments used in the call.
Here is a simple example that illustrates method overloading: Example: To illustrate the
concept of method overloading in java
class Overload {
void test() {
System.out.println("TEST with out parameters");
}
void test(int a) {
System.out.println("parameters:"+a);
}
void test(int a,char ch){
System.out.println("parameters:"+a+"\t"+ch);
}
int test(char ch) {
System.out.println("TEST with return type and parameters :"+ch);
return 100;
}
}
class OverloadDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Overload o=new Overload();
o.test();
o.test(10); o.test(10,'x');
int x=o.test('a'); System.out.println("X value is:"+x);
}
}

In the above example test( ) is overloaded four times.

• The first version takes no parameters, the second takes one integer parameter, the third takes
two parameters; one integer and one character, and the fourth takes one character parameter
and also returns an integer.
• When an overloaded method is called, Java looks for a match between the arguments used to
call the method and the method’s parameters.
• In some cases, Java’s automatic type conversions can play a role. Java will employ its
automatic type conversions only if no exact match is found.
Overloading Constructors:
Constructor methods can also be overloaded in the same as how methods are overloaded.
/* Here, Box defines three constructors to initialize the dimensions of a box various ways.
class Box { Output:
double width, height , depth; Volume of mybox1 is
// constructor used when all dimensions specified 3000.0
Box(double w, double h, double d) { Volume of mybox2 is
width = w; height = h; depth = d; -1.0
} Volume of mycube is

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 // constructor used when no dimensions specified 343.0
Box() {
width = -1; // use -1 to indicate
height = -1; // an uninitialized
depth = -1; // box
}
// constructor used when cube is created
Box(double len) {
width = height = depth = len;
}
// compute and return volume
double volume() {
return width * height * depth;
}
}
class OverloadCons {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// create boxes using the various constructors
Box mybox1 = new Box(10, 20, 15);
Box mybox2 = new Box();
Box mycube = new Box(7); double vol;
// get volume of first box
vol = mybox1.volume();
System.out.println("Volume of mybox1 is " + vol);
// get volume of second box vol = mybox2.volume();
System.out.println("Volume of mybox2 is " + vol);
// get volume of cube vol = mycube.volume();
System.out.println("Volume of mycube is " + vol);
}
}

Using Objects as Parameters:

Normally we pass simple types as parameters to methods. We can also pass objects to methods.
For example, consider the following program:
// Objects may be passed to methods.
class Test {
int a, b;
Test(int i, int j) {
a = i; b = j;
}
// return true if o is equal to the invoking object
boolean equals(Test o){
if(o.a == a && o.b == b)
return true;
else
return false;

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 }
}
class PassOb {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Test ob1 = new Test(100, 22);
Test ob2 = new Test(100, 22);
Test ob3 = new Test(-1, -1);
System.out.println("ob1 == ob2: " + ob1.equals(ob2));
System.out.println("ob1 == ob3: " + ob1.equals(ob3));
}
}

This program generates the following output:

ob1 == ob2: true
ob1 == ob3: false
• The equals( ) method inside Test compares two objects for equality and returns the result.
That is, it compares the invoking object with the one that it is passed.
• If they contain the same values, then the method returns true. Otherwise, it returns false.
• Notice that the parameter o in equals( ) specifies Test as its type. Although Test is a class type
created by the program, it is used in just the same way as Java’s built-in types.

Inheritance
Inheritance is an important feature of object oriented programming. Inheritance is the
property of acquiring the properties of other class. A class that is inherited is called a superclass.
The class that does the inheriting is called a subclass. A subclass inherits members of superclass
and adds its own, unique elements.
The general form of a class declaration that inherits a superclass is shown here:
class subclass-name extends superclass-name{
// body of class
}

In java extends is the keyword used to inherit the other class. The class which inherits the
properties is called sub class and the class from which the properties are inherited is called the
super class.
Types of inheritance
• Single inheritance
• Multi-level inheritance
• Multiple inheritance
• Hybrid inheritance
• Cyclic Inheritance
Single inheritance:
When a class inherits another class, it is known as a single inheritance. The following program
creates a superclass called A and a subclass called B.

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 class A {
int i,j;
A(){
int i=10,j=20;
}
void showij() {
System.out.println("i and j: " + i + " " + j);
}
}
class B extends A {
int k;
B(){
int i=100, j=200,k=300;
}
void showall() {
System.out.println("i: " + i);
System.out.println("j: " + j);
System.out.println("k: " + k);
}
}
class Sample {
public static void main(String args[]) {
A o1= new A();
B o2 = new B();
System.out.println("Contents of superOb: ");
o1.showij();
System.out.println("Contents of subOb: ");
o2.showall();
}
}
The subclass B includes all of the members of its superclass, A. This is why o2 can
access i and j and can call showij( ).
Member Access and Inheritance
Although a subclass includes all of the members of its superclass, it cannot access those
members of the superclass that have been declared as private. In a class hierarchy, private
members remain private to their class.
class A {
private int i;
int j;
A() {
i=10,j=20;
}
void showij() {
System.out.println("i and j: " + i + " " + j);
}
}

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 Class B extends A{
int k;
B() {
j=200,k=300;
}
void showjk() {
System.out.println("j: " + j);
System.out.println("k: " + k);
}
}
class Sample {
public static void main(String args[]) {
A o1= new A();
B o2 = new B();
System.out.println("Contents of superOb: ");
o1.showij();
System.out.println("Contents of subOb: ");
o2.showjk();
}
}
In the above program the data member j is inherited but i is not inherited as it is a private
member. A class member that has been declared as private will remain private to its class. It is not
accessible by any code outside its class, including subclasses.
super
super has two general forms.
• is used to call the superclass’ constructor.
• is used to access a member of the superclass that has been hidden by a member of a
subclass.
a. Using super to Call Superclass Constructors
A subclass can call a constructor method defined by its immediate superclass by use of the
following form of
super:
super(parameter-list);
Here, parameter-list specifies any parameters needed by the constructor in the superclass. super(
) must always be the first statement executed inside a subclass’ constructor.
Example
class A {
int x,y;
A(int p, int q) {
x=p;
y=q;
}
void showA() {
System.out.println("x:"+x+"Y:"+y);
}
}

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 class B extends A {
int m,n;
B(int p, int q,int r, int s) {
super(r,s);
M=p;
N=q;
}
void showB() {
System.out.println("m:"+m+"n:"+n);
}
}
class supex {
public static void main(String args[]) {
A a=new A(10,20);
System.out.println("USING SUPER CLASS");
a.showA();
B b=new B(100,200,300,400);
System.out.println("USING SUB CLASS"); b.showA();
b.showB();
}
}
In the above example super keyword is used to call the constructor in the super class.
Parameters can also be passed to the constructor by enclosing them with in parentheses.
A Second Use for super:
Super can also be used to refer to the superclass of the subclass in which it is used. This
usage has the following general form:
super.member
Here, member can be either a method or a data member. This second form of super is
most applicable to situations in which member names of a subclass hide members by the same
name in the superclass.
Example:
Class A { int x;
A() {
x=20;
}
void showA() {
System.out.println("x:"+x);
}
}
class B extends A {
int x;
B() {
super.x=100; x=200;
}
void showB() {
System.out.println("super.x:"+super.x+"x:"+x);

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 }
}
class supex2 {
public static void main(String args[]) {
B b=new B();
b.showB();
}
}
Although the instance variable x in B hides the x in A, super allows access to the x defined in
the superclass. As you will see, super can also be used to call methods that
are hidden by a subclass.
Creating a Multilevel inheritance
In multi-level inheritance a subclass is used as a super class of another class. For
example, given three classes called A, B, and C, C can be a subclass of B, which is a subclass
of A. When this type of situation occurs, each subclass inherits all of the traits found in all of its
super classes.
Example:
class A {
int x;
A() {
x=20;
}
void showA() {
System.out.println("x:"+x);
}
}
class B extends A {
int y;
B() {
y=30;
}
void showB() {
System.out.println("y:"+y);
}
}
class C extends B {
int z;
C() {
z=40;
}
void showC() {
System.out.println("z:"+z);
}
}
class multi{
public static void main(String args[]) {

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 C c=new C();
c.showA();
c.showB();
c.showC();
}
}
The subclass C inherits properties in the classes A and B. So it can access the methods
showA(), showB() and showC().
Order Constructor execution with inheritance
Constructors are called in order of derivation, from superclass to subclass. Further, since super( )
must be the first statement executed in a subclass’ constructor, this order is the same whether or
not super( ) is used. If super() is not used, then the default or parameterless constructor of each
superclass will be executed.
Example
class A {
A() {
System.out.println("Inside A's constructor.");
}
}
class B extends A {
B() {
System.out.println("Inside B's constructor.");
}
}
class C extends B {
C() {
System.out.println("Inside C's constructor.");
}
}
class multicons {
public static void main(String args[]) {
C c = new C();
}
}
The output from this program is:
Inside A’s constructor Inside B’s constructor Inside C’s constructor Method Overriding
When a method in a subclass has the same name and type signature as a method in its superclass,
then the method in the subclass is said to override the method in the superclass. When an
overridden method is called from within a subclass, it will always refer to the version of that
method defined by the subclass. The version of the method defined by the superclass will be
hidden.
Example:
class A {
int i, j;
A(int a, int b) {
i = a;

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 j = b;
}
void show() {
System.out.println("i and j: " + i + " " + j);
}
}
class B extends A {
int k;
B(int a, int b, int c) {
super(a, b);
k = c;
}
void show() {
Super.show();
System.out.println("k: " + k);
}
}
class override {
public static void main(String args[]) {
B ob = new B(1, 2, 3);
ob.show();
}
}
With the call Ob.show( ), the method in the subclass B is invoked. That is, the version of
show( ) inside B overrides the version declared in A. To access the superclass version of an
overridden function, use super. Note: overridden methods allow Java to support run-time
polymorphism.
Run time polymorphism using method overriding
Method overriding forms the basis for one of Java’s most powerful concepts: dynamic method
dispatch. Dynamic method dispatch is the mechanism by which a call to an overridden method is
resolved at run time, rather than compile time. This is how Java implements run-time
polymorphism.
Note: a superclass reference variable can refer to a subclass object.
Java uses this fact to resolve calls to overridden methods at run time. When an overridden method
is called through a superclass reference, Java determines which version of that method to execute
based upon the type of the object being referred to at the time the call occurs. Thus, this
determination is made at run time. When different types of objects are referred to, different
versions of an overridden method will be called.
Example:
class A {
int x;
A() {
x=20;
}
void show() {
System.out.println("x:"+x);

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 }
}
class B extends A {
int y;
B() {
y=30;
}
void show() {
System.out.println("y:"+y);
}
}
class C extends B {
int z;
C() {
z=40;
}
void show() {
System.out.println("z:"+z);
}
}
class multi {
public static void main(String args[]) { A o1=new A();
B o2=new B(); C o3=new C(); A o; o=o1;
o.show();//calls show in the class A o=o2;
o.show();//calls show in the class B o=o3;
o.show();//calls show in the class C
}
}
This program creates one superclass called A and two subclasses of it, called B and C.
Subclasses B and C override show( ) declared in A. Inside the main( ) method, objects of type A,
B, and C are declared. Also, a reference of type A, called o, is declared. The program then assigns
a reference to each type of object to o and uses that reference to invoke show( ).
Abstract Classes:
An abstract method is a method that is declared without an implementation (without braces and
followed by a semicolon). To declare an abstract method, use this general form:
abstract type name(parameter-list);
Example :
abstract void draw();
The abstract method must be overridden by the subclass. If a class includes abstract methods, the
class itself must be declared abstract. Any class that contains one or more abstract methods must
also be declared abstract.
An abstract class is a class that is declared abstract. It may or may not include abstract
methods. Objects can not be created for Abstract classes. Abstract classes can be inherited by other
classes. To declare a class abstract, you simply use the abstract keyword in front of the class
keyword at the beginning of the class declaration.
abstract class classname {

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 }
Any subclass of an abstract class must either implement all of the abstract methods in the
superclass, or be itself declared abstract.
Example:
abstract class A {
int x;
A() {
x=20;
}
abstract void show();
}
class B extends A {
int y;
B() {
y=30;
}
void show() {
System.out.println("x:"+x);
System.out.println("y:"+y);
}
}
class AbsEx {
public static void main(String args[]) {
B o=new B();
o.show();
}
}
It is not possible to create objects of the class A as it is an abstract class. The method
show() in the class A is declared as abstract and is overridden by the class B.

final with Inheritance:

The keyword final has three uses.
• It can be used to create a named constant.
• Can be used to disallow a method from being overridden
• Can be used to prevent a class from being inherited
a. Using final to create constant data members
A variable can be declared as final. If a variable is declared as final its contents cannot be
modified. A final variable must be initialized when it is declared.
For example:
final int FILE_NEW = 1; final int FILE_OPEN = 2; final int FILE_SAVE = 3; final int
FILE_SAVEAS = 4; final int FILE_QUIT = 5;
In subsequent parts of the program we can use FILE_OPEN, etc., as if they were Constants.
Variables declared as final do not occupy memory on a per-instance basis. Thus, a final variable
is essentially a constant. The keyword final can also be applied to methods, but its meaning is
substantially different than when it is applied to variables.

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 b. Using final to Prevent Overriding
To disallow a method from being overridden, use final as a modifier at the start of its
declaration. Methods declared as final cannot be overridden.
Example:
class A {
final void meth() {
System.out.println("This is a final method.");
}
}
In the class A meth( ) is declared as final, it cannot be overridden in subclasses.
c. Using final to Prevent Inheritance
A class can also be prevented from being inherited. Use final to do so. Declaring a class as
final implicitly declares all of its methods as final, too.
Note: It is illegal to declare a class as both abstract and final
Example
final class A {
// ...
}

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