Abstract
In Chapter 5, we discussed generalization/specialization as an abstraction mechanism for modeling classes and their hierarchical relationships with one another. We also introduced superclasses as generalized classes of subclasses. In this chapter, we will discuss inheritance as a mechanism for propagating properties (attributes and methods) of superclasses to subclasses. The properties then form part of the subclasses’ definition. From an implementation standpoint, inheritance encourages software reuse. The impact of inheritance on software development will also be discussed.
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag London Limited
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Poo, D., Kiong, D., Ashok, S. (2008). Inheritance. In: Object-Oriented Programming and Java. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-963-7_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-963-7_6
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-84628-962-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-963-7
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