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Encyclopedia > Multiple inheritance

Multiple inheritance refers to a feature of object-oriented programming languages in which a class can inherit behaviors and features from more than one superclass. This contrasts with single inheritance, where a class inherits from only one superclass. In computer science, object-oriented programming, OOP for short, is a computer programming paradigm. ... Computer code (HTML with JavaScript) in a tool that uses syntax highlighting (colors) to help the developer see the purpose of each piece of code. ... In object-oriented programming, classes are used to group related variables and functions. ... In computer science, a superclass is a class from which other classes are derived. ...


Multiple inheritance can cause some confusing situations, so there is some debate over whether or not its benefits outweigh its risks. Java compromises: it allows a class to inherit interfaces from more than one parent (that is, one can specify that a class inherits all the types from its parents and must have all of the same externally exposed methods of its interface-parents, and allow the compiler to enforce that), but can inherit implementation (methods and fields) from only one parent. Microsoft's .NET languages such as C# and Visual Basic implement this interface approach as well. Java is an object-oriented programming language developed by James Gosling and colleagues at Sun Microsystems in the early 1990s. ... lkfnfj cdac ... The Microsoft . ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Visual Basic . ...


In object-oriented programming (OOP), inheritance describes a relationship between two types, or classes, of objects in which one is said to be a "subtype" or "child" of the other. The child inherits features of the parent, allowing for shared functionality. For example, one might create a variable class "Mammal" with features such as eating, reproducing, etc.; then define a subtype "Cat" that inherits those features without having to explicitly program them, while adding new features like "chasing mice". In object-oriented programming of computer science, an inheritance is a way to form new classes (instances of which will be objects) using pre-defined objects or classes where new ones simply take over old ones implementations and characteristics. ...


If, however, one wants to use more than one totally orthogonal hierarchy simultaneously, such as allowing "Cat" to inherit from "Cartoon character" and "Pet" as well as "Mammal", lack of multiple inheritance often results in a very awkwardly mixed hierarchy, or forces functionality to be rewritten in more than one place (with the attendant maintenance problems).


Multiple inheritance has been a touchy issue for many years, with opponents pointing to its increased complexity and ambiguity in situations such as the "diamond problem". In object-oriented programming languages with multiple inheritance, the diamond problem is an ambiguity that arises when two classes B and C inherit from A, and class D inherits from both B and C. If a method in D calls a method defined in A, which class does it inherit...


Languages have different ways of dealing with these problems. Eiffel, for example, allows subtypes to adapt their inherited features by renaming them or setting selection rules for them ahead of time. Java allows objects to inherit multiple interfaces but only a single implementation. REALbasic is similar, but also allows additional methods to "extend" a class without inheritance. Perl uses the list of classes to inherit from as an ordered list, and uses the first method it finds by depth-first searching first the current class, then the inherited classes in the order listed and their superclasses. CLOS allows for complete programmer control of method combination, and if that's not enough the meta-object protocol gives the programmer a means to modify the inheritance, method dispatch, class instantiation, and other internal mechanisms without affecting the stability of the system. Eiffel is an object-oriented programming language which emphasizes the production of robust software. ... REALbasic or RB is an object-oriented dialect of the BASIC programming language commercially marketed by the Austin, Texas based REAL Software Inc. ... Programming Republic of Perl logo Perl, also Practical Extraction and Report Language (a backronym, see below), is a programming language released by Larry Wall on December 18, 1987 that borrows features from C, sed, awk, shell scripting (sh), and (to a lesser extent) from many other programming languages. ... The Common Lisp Object System, a powerful system for object-oriented programming which forms part of Common Lisp. ... Metaobject is any entity that exhibits some aspects of objects, like type, interface, class, methods, attributes, variables, functions, control structures and many more. ... In computer science, dynamic dispatch is the process of mapping a message to a specific sequence of code (method) at runtime. ...


See also

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External links

  • Article by Jonathan Lurie of Builder.Com on instances in .NET languages: http://builder.com.com/5100-6373-5030734.html

  Results from FactBites:
 
Multiple inheritance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (359 words)
Multiple inheritance refers to a feature of object-oriented programming languages in which a class can inherit behaviors and features from more than one superclass.
Multiple inheritance has been a touchy issue for many years, with opponents pointing to its increased complexity and ambiguity in situations such as the "diamond problem".
Perl uses the list of classes to inherit from as an ordered list, and uses the first method it finds by depth-first searching first the current class, then the inherited classes in the order listed and their superclasses.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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