Which method hides a method in the superclass

What is method hiding in Java? So the following will happen: Animal. Prints Animal because the declared type of a is Animal b. Prints Animal because the declared type of b is Animal c. Prints Cat because the declared type of c is Cat d. Prints Animal because the declared type of d is Animal Calling static methods on instances rather than classes is a very bad practice, and should never be done.

What is meant by method overriding? Why can't static methods be overridden? How should static methods be accessed? More description Java Inheritance: Overwritten or hidden methods. Tags: Java Oop Method Hiding. Why isn't there a openjdkjdk package on debian anymore? How to generate new, bit Diffie-Hellman parameters with Java keytool?

Methods that are already overridden by other candidates are ignored. This circumstance can arise when supertypes share a common ancestor. The method Dragon. If two or more independently defined default methods conflict, or a default method conflicts with an abstract method, then the Java compiler produces a compiler error. You must explicitly override the supertype methods.

Consider the example about computer-controlled cars that can now fly. You have two interfaces OperateCar and FlyCar that provide default implementations for the same method, startEngine :. You could invoke any of the of the default implementations with the super keyword.

The name preceding super in this example, FlyCar or OperateCar must refer to a direct superinterface that defines or inherits a default for the invoked method.

This form of method invocation is not restricted to differentiating between multiple implemented interfaces that contain default methods with the same signature. You can use the super keyword to invoke a default method in both classes and interfaces.

Inherited instance methods from classes can override abstract interface methods. Consider the following interfaces and classes:. The method Mustang. The class Mustang inherits the method identifyMyself from the class Horse , which overrides the abstract method of the same name in the interface Mammal.

So the following will happen:. Calling static methods on instances rather than classes is a very bad practice, and should never be done. Compare this with instance methods, which are polymorphic and are thus overridden. The method called depends on the concrete, runtime type of the object:. Method hiding means subclass has defined a class method with the same signature as a class method in the superclass. In that case the method of superclass is hidden by the subclass. It signifies that : The version of a method that is executed will NOT be determined by the object that is used to invoke it.

In fact it will be determined by the type of reference variable used to invoke the method. Method overriding means subclass had defined an instance method with the same signature and return type including covariant type as the instance method in superclass. In that case method of superclass is overridden replaced by the subclass. It signifies that: The version of method that is executed will be determined by the object that is used to invoke it.

It will not be determined by the type of reference variable used to invoke the method. Because, static methods are resolved statically i. Static methods should be accessed in static way. Clearly, as specified, since foo is the class method so the version of foo invoked will be determined by the type of reference variable i. If it is referenced by Super variable then foo of Super is called. And if it is referenced by Child variable then foo of Child is called.

Whereas , Since bar is the instance method so the version of bar invoked is solely determined by the object i. No matter via which reference variable Super or Child it is called , the method which is going to be called is always of Child. To overwrite a method means that whenever the method is called on an object of the derived class, the new implementation will be called.

To hide a method means that an unqualified call to that name in the scope of this class i. More description Java Inheritance: Overwritten or hidden methods. If a subclass defines a class method with the same signature as a class method in the superclass, the method in the subclass hides the one in the superclass. Hidden methods are in Static context, I believe. Static methods are not overridden, per se, because the resolution of method calls done by the compiler at the compile time itself.

So, if you define a static method in the base class with the same signature as that one present in the parent class, then the method in the subclass hides the method inherited from super class. Hiding is Parent class has a static method named Foo and the sub class also has a static method called Foo.

Another scenario is the parent has a static method named Cat and the sub class has an instance method named Cat. The method in the super class will be hidden by the method in sub class. This is known as method hiding. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.

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