how to instance generic abstract class - java

I am trying to profile a ann algorithm written in Java that is implemented as a generic abstract class and I cant figure out how to instance it.
Eclipse gives me error "Cannot instantiate the type KdTree" which is not very helpful. Any ideas on how to instance this class so I can test it?
Class defination and constructor:
public abstract class KdTree<T> {
private KdTree(int dimensions, Integer sizeLimit) {
this.dimensions = dimensions;
}
}
My attempt to instance it:
public class test_robo {
public void run_test()
{
KdTree<Integer> tree = new KdTree<Integer>(1,1);
}
}
link to the full code for KdTree
http://robowiki.net/wiki/User:Rednaxela/kD-Tree

First of all, you cannot instantiate an abstract class.
I saw the code in the link you provided; there are few implementations of the base class KdTree<T> already in there.
WeightedSqrEuclid
WeightedManhattan
...
If that's not what you're looking for, extend the base class and implement all those abstract methods as you wish.

You cannot instantiate an abstract class directly. The reason it is declared abstract is that it is not meant to be used by itself - you have to provide an implementation of its abstract methods first.
You need to inherit your own class from the abstract base, implement its abstract methods, and then instantiate your class. An instance of your class is automatically an instance of its abstract base.
public class ProfilerTree extends KdTree<Integer> {
public ProfilerTree(int dimensions, Integer sizeLimit) {
super(dimensions, sizeLimit);
}
...
// Implement abstract methods of KdTree<Integer> here
}
...
KdTree<Integer> tree = new ProfilerTree(1,1);

you can't instantiate an abstract class. Abstract actually means it doesn't make sense on its own so it always has to be extended and its methods implemented.
Unlike interfaces, abstract classes can contain fields that are not static and final, and they can contain implemented methods. Such abstract classes are similar to interfaces, except that they provide a partial implementation, leaving it to subclasses to complete the implementation. If an abstract class contains only abstract method declarations, it should be declared as an interface instead.
Multiple interfaces can be implemented by classes anywhere in the class hierarchy, whether or not they are related to one another in any way. Think of Comparable or Cloneable, for example.
By comparison, abstract classes are most commonly subclassed to share pieces of implementation. A single abstract class is subclassed by similar classes that have a lot in common (the implemented parts of the abstract class), but also have some differences (the abstract methods).
see http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/IandI/abstract.html

You can instantiate it by constructing an anonymous subclass, like so:
KdTree<Integer> tree = new KdTree<Integer>(1,1)
{
#Override
public void myAbstractMethodName()
{
//do something!
}
};
Otherwise, you can generate your own implementation:
private class KdTreeSub extends KdTree<Integer>
{
public KdTreeSub()
{
super(1, 1);
}
}
And later call it
public void myMethod()
{
...
KdTree<Integer> kdtree = new KdTreeSub();
...
}
The reason for this is that abstract classes are not complete classes. They are missing parts of them, usually a method. This method is marked with the "abstract" identifier:
public abstract int read();
The idea behind this is that you can construct a class that handles other parts:
public byte[] read(int len)
{
byte[] b = new byte[len];
for(int i = 0; i < b.length; i++) b[i] = read();
return b;
}
And simplify creating new classes.

The class, as it stands, was not meant to be instantiated. It's meant to store boilerplate code for concrete implementations. There are 4 of them in your link, starting with WeightedSqrEuclid.
You can either instantiate those, simply by e.g. new WeightedSqrEuclid<Integer>(1,1), or, if you want to profile the general code, write your own class extending KdTree.
However, in the latter case you should either create your subclass in the same file, or change a constructor of KdTree to at least protected. This is because, to create a subclass of this type, you need to call one of the constructors of KdTree in your implementation.

Related

Interface and Abstract class share same method

Is this design really valid?
Legacy application code, so just trying to refactor if it's not necessary.
public interface Interface {
public void abc();
}
public abstract class abClass implements Interface{
#Override
public void abc(){
throw new UnsupportedOpException(NOT_IMPLEMENTED_MSG);
}
public class xyz extends abClass{
#Override
public void abc(){
.......//some code here
}
Can I get rid of the Interface? Not sure what's the original intention was behind this design. When would you want to have same methods in both interface and abstract classes which gets eventually overriden?
void abc(); must be implemented either by the abstract class or by the inherited classes...
there is no chance to get rid off that...
if you prefer, you can move the void abc(); as a method of the Abstract class...
redefined it and:
Block the overriding of ot by making it final.
or
delegate the responsability of the implementation to child classes by making it abstract too..
I think, from a functional programming perspective, it's fine as is. Having implements Interface just means the class must have a method with the same name. The fact that it is defined in abClass means that not only are you saying that all classes that inherit from abClass must have the interface, but also that you don't need to redefine it in every class, unless you wish to override.
So you don't actually define the method in Interface, but you do in abClass, and when you define the method in xyz, you're overriding the method in abClass.
An Interface should be used behind an abstract class when it offers something you need and that an abstract class cannot offer.
Create an interface for no concrete reasons but because you think that interface==OOP brings overhead and proves that you misunderstand what OOP is.
In your case, if in the applicative code, you notice that you can remove the interface behind the abstract class and that you have no real impact at compile time, you may wonder if the abstraction of the interface is not just an overhead. It may be useful as not useful. I will develop it.
Using an interface behind a abstract class opens implementation possibilities : you may benefit of this abstract class related with the interface but you can also implement the interface in concrete classes without benefiting of the abstract class, therefore as you wish. Writing an implementation from A to Z may be suitable as not suitable according to our needs.
Personally, I think that the interface is useful behind an abstract class in two cases :
the interface is common for at all types of target concrete classes but the
abstract class is relevant not for all types of target concrete classes.
For example when you implement a decorator, you have a common interface to represent both decorated classes and decorator classes.
The decorator classes have different logic and data from the decorated classes. So, our abstract class for decorator classes or for decorated classes may be different.
Here an simple example to represent Decorator for document.
Common interface :
public interface IDocumentInput {
void read();
byte[] getBytes();
String getStringContent();
}
decorated document :
public class DocumentInput implements IDocumentInput {
private byte[] bytes;
public DocumentInput(byte[] bytes) {
this.bytes = bytes;
}
public byte[] getBytes() {
return bytes;
}
public void read() {
}
public String getStringContent() {
return new String(getBytes(),StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
}
}
abstract class for decorators :
public abstract class AbstractDocumentInputDecorator implements IDocumentInput {
protected IDocumentInput document;
protected byte[] bytes;
public AbstractDocumentInputDecorator(IDocumentInput document) {
this.document = document;
}
public byte[] getBytes() {
return bytes;
}
public final String getStringContent() {
return new String(getBytes(),StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
}
}
Concrete decorator :
public class SecuredDocumentInputDecorator extends AbstractDocumentInputDecorator {
public SecuredDocumentInputDecorator(IDocumentInput document) {
super(document);
}
#Override
public void read() {
document.read();
processUnsecuring();
}
private void processUnsecuring() {
byte[] originalBytes = document.getBytes();
bytes = Base64.decodeBase64(originalBytes);
}
}
In this case, it seems logical to introduce an interface because the abstract class is not enough to represent common behavior and or data of all concrete classes.
You want to provide to developers the possibility to create their own implementation of the interface with or without relying on the abstract class implementation. In general, it's desirable when you create an open API.
Collections in JDK classes illustrate very well that.
Indeed, if you want to create interface/contract promoting extensibility, when you provide only an abstract class, developers which want to create their implementation are forced to use the abstract class even if they don't want. Which is not desirable.
You use a library which forces you to use interfaces. For example with EJB 3.0 and Spring in these first versions, using abstract class or class doesn't allow to benefit from some of their features.

Why its not necessary to have abstract classes to have abstract method [duplicate]

Can have an abstract class implementing all of its methods-- with no abstract methods in it.
Eg.:
public abstract class someClass {
int a;
public someClass (int a) { this.a = a; }
public void m1 () { /* do something */ }
private void m2 () { /* do something else */ }
}
What's the advantage, if any, of having such an abstract class compared to having the same class as a concrete one instead?
One i can think of is that, when i declare it as abstract, it won't be instantiated.
however, i can have the same effect by making it concrete and its constructor(s) private.
TIA.
//==================
EDIT: One other use I can think of:
it may be extending another abstract class or implementing an interface without implementing that class's abstract methods-- although it is implementing all methods of its own. for whatever it' worth.
It has a conceptual meaning: this class has a behaviour which makes no sense on its own.
Granted, it's difficult to imagine such a scenario without well-defined extension points (i.e. abstract methods), but occasionally it will be a reasonably accurate model of your problem.
You can have something like this:
public abstract class ObjectWithId {
private final String id;
public ObjectWithId( String id ) {
this.id = id;
}
public final String getId() {
return id;
}
}
And then you can extend it to declare different types of objects that have ids. Here you have a fully specified and implemented behaviour but no restriction on any other behaviours subclasses may exhibit.
Note though that a much neater way to model the same thing is to use composition instead of inheritance.
public final class ObjectWithId<T> {
private final String id;
private final T ob;
public ObjectWithId( String id, T ob ) {
this.id = id;
this.ob = ob;
}
public String getId() {
return id;
}
public T getObject() {
return ob;
}
}
But before generics were introduced (up to Java version 1.4), this wouldn't have been as elegant and obviously better than the abstract class solution because you'd have had to trade in type safety.
you can declare to implement an interface and don't provide implementation and then each child implicitly gets interface extended
you prevent to create instance of this class
you in future provide common implementation to all children
As you pointed out, you can prevent the class from being instantiated by making it's constructor private. Othere than that, there is no benefit whatsoever. This is probably supported just to provide language completeness.
We generally use Abstraction concept with inheritance
Consider using abstract classes if any of these statements apply to
your situation:
You want to share code among several closely related classes.
To answer your question,
Why declare a class with concrete methods Abstract?
One possible reason is to support inheritance without actually creating objects
Assume you have two classes one Abstract and other Concrete
Abstract class : AbsClass
abstract class AbsClass {
int a = 5;
//Constructor
public AbsClass() {
System.out.println(a);
}
void methodA() {
System.out.println(a + 10);
}
}
and
Concrete class : ConcreteClass
class ConcreteClass {
int a = 10;
//Made the constructor Private to prevent from creating objects of this class
private ConcreteClass() {
System.out.println(a);
}
void methodA() {
System.out.println(a + 10);
}
}
The above two classes should function similarly (?) Until you try to Subclass them
class AbsImplementer extends AbsClass {
//Works fine
}
class ConcImplementer extends ConcreteClass {
//Compilation Error Implicit super constructor ConcreteClass() is not visible
}
The practical difference is that you can't create an instance of it. You would have to subclass it and create an instance of the subclass.
As to WHY you would want to do this, in practice ... I'm hard pressed to think of a good reason. You could say that the class is only meaningful if someone creates a subclass that implements some function. But then why not make that function abstract in the super-class?
I wouldn't rule out the possibility that someone might come up with some example where this makes sense, but I can't think of one. Just because it's possible to write a piece of code and that code compiles successfully doesn't mean that that it makes sense. I mean, I can write "total_price = item_price * zip_code + customer_height_in_cubits - 7.879", but that doesn't mean such a line of code would be meaningful.
Well assume that you don't care whether the methods of the abstract class are implemented or abstract, but by design it has to be abstract so that when someone extends it, they have to add more methods or override the existing ones or use as is. If they don't want to override the methods then the default behavior is already provided in that abstract class.
In this abstract class, the only criteria you enforce is - one simply cannot instantiate that class and they have to have their only version of class before using it.
So in general, abstract class with few or all methods being implemented, is much better than having an interface which has no methods implemented at all. This is based on the assumption that you are using it as a single inheritance.
Consider something similar to the NVI pattern (not sure what you'd call it in Java):
public abstract class A {
public final void doSomething() {
System.out.println("required");
doOptional();
}
protected void doOptional() {
System.out.println("optional");
}
}
public class B extends A {
#Override
protected void doOptional() {
System.out.println("overridden");
}
}
For your public API, you only expose a public final method which cannot be overridden. It performs some required work inside there and an optional method. When extending this class, you can only override doOptional().
Calling B.doSomething() will always print "required" before it proceeds.
Since doOptional() is not abstract, there's no purely code reason that class A needs to be abstract. But it might be desired for your particular project. For example, a base service that is always extended into specific sub-projects.
This can be useful for cases when the classes derived from the abstract base class must have some behaviour that is different from each other but that behaviour can not be abstracted as residing within a method that has the same signature for all the classes. Being unable to share a signature can occur if the different behaviour requires methods that are passed different primitive types. Because they use primitive types you can not use generics to express the similarity.
An abstract base class without any abstract methods is acting a bit like a marker interface, in that it is declaring that implementing classes must provide some behaviour without having that behaviour encapsulated within a new method with a signature that is the same for all implementations. You would use an abstract base class rather than a marker interface when the implementing classes have some behaviour in common, especially if the base class can implement it for the derived classes.
For example:
abstract class Sender {
protected final void beginMessage() {
...
}
protected final void endMessage() {
...
}
protected final void appendToMessage(int x) {
...
}
}
final class LongSender extends Sender {
public void send(int a, int b, int c) {
beginMessage();
appendToMessage(a);
appendToMessage(b);
appendToMessage(c);
endMessage();
}
}
final class ShortSender extends Sender {
public void send(int a) {
beginMessage();
appendToMessage(a);
endMessage();
}
}
It can be useful if you consider it an utility class.

What's the point in having an abstract class with no abstract methods?

Can have an abstract class implementing all of its methods-- with no abstract methods in it.
Eg.:
public abstract class someClass {
int a;
public someClass (int a) { this.a = a; }
public void m1 () { /* do something */ }
private void m2 () { /* do something else */ }
}
What's the advantage, if any, of having such an abstract class compared to having the same class as a concrete one instead?
One i can think of is that, when i declare it as abstract, it won't be instantiated.
however, i can have the same effect by making it concrete and its constructor(s) private.
TIA.
//==================
EDIT: One other use I can think of:
it may be extending another abstract class or implementing an interface without implementing that class's abstract methods-- although it is implementing all methods of its own. for whatever it' worth.
It has a conceptual meaning: this class has a behaviour which makes no sense on its own.
Granted, it's difficult to imagine such a scenario without well-defined extension points (i.e. abstract methods), but occasionally it will be a reasonably accurate model of your problem.
You can have something like this:
public abstract class ObjectWithId {
private final String id;
public ObjectWithId( String id ) {
this.id = id;
}
public final String getId() {
return id;
}
}
And then you can extend it to declare different types of objects that have ids. Here you have a fully specified and implemented behaviour but no restriction on any other behaviours subclasses may exhibit.
Note though that a much neater way to model the same thing is to use composition instead of inheritance.
public final class ObjectWithId<T> {
private final String id;
private final T ob;
public ObjectWithId( String id, T ob ) {
this.id = id;
this.ob = ob;
}
public String getId() {
return id;
}
public T getObject() {
return ob;
}
}
But before generics were introduced (up to Java version 1.4), this wouldn't have been as elegant and obviously better than the abstract class solution because you'd have had to trade in type safety.
you can declare to implement an interface and don't provide implementation and then each child implicitly gets interface extended
you prevent to create instance of this class
you in future provide common implementation to all children
As you pointed out, you can prevent the class from being instantiated by making it's constructor private. Othere than that, there is no benefit whatsoever. This is probably supported just to provide language completeness.
We generally use Abstraction concept with inheritance
Consider using abstract classes if any of these statements apply to
your situation:
You want to share code among several closely related classes.
To answer your question,
Why declare a class with concrete methods Abstract?
One possible reason is to support inheritance without actually creating objects
Assume you have two classes one Abstract and other Concrete
Abstract class : AbsClass
abstract class AbsClass {
int a = 5;
//Constructor
public AbsClass() {
System.out.println(a);
}
void methodA() {
System.out.println(a + 10);
}
}
and
Concrete class : ConcreteClass
class ConcreteClass {
int a = 10;
//Made the constructor Private to prevent from creating objects of this class
private ConcreteClass() {
System.out.println(a);
}
void methodA() {
System.out.println(a + 10);
}
}
The above two classes should function similarly (?) Until you try to Subclass them
class AbsImplementer extends AbsClass {
//Works fine
}
class ConcImplementer extends ConcreteClass {
//Compilation Error Implicit super constructor ConcreteClass() is not visible
}
The practical difference is that you can't create an instance of it. You would have to subclass it and create an instance of the subclass.
As to WHY you would want to do this, in practice ... I'm hard pressed to think of a good reason. You could say that the class is only meaningful if someone creates a subclass that implements some function. But then why not make that function abstract in the super-class?
I wouldn't rule out the possibility that someone might come up with some example where this makes sense, but I can't think of one. Just because it's possible to write a piece of code and that code compiles successfully doesn't mean that that it makes sense. I mean, I can write "total_price = item_price * zip_code + customer_height_in_cubits - 7.879", but that doesn't mean such a line of code would be meaningful.
Well assume that you don't care whether the methods of the abstract class are implemented or abstract, but by design it has to be abstract so that when someone extends it, they have to add more methods or override the existing ones or use as is. If they don't want to override the methods then the default behavior is already provided in that abstract class.
In this abstract class, the only criteria you enforce is - one simply cannot instantiate that class and they have to have their only version of class before using it.
So in general, abstract class with few or all methods being implemented, is much better than having an interface which has no methods implemented at all. This is based on the assumption that you are using it as a single inheritance.
Consider something similar to the NVI pattern (not sure what you'd call it in Java):
public abstract class A {
public final void doSomething() {
System.out.println("required");
doOptional();
}
protected void doOptional() {
System.out.println("optional");
}
}
public class B extends A {
#Override
protected void doOptional() {
System.out.println("overridden");
}
}
For your public API, you only expose a public final method which cannot be overridden. It performs some required work inside there and an optional method. When extending this class, you can only override doOptional().
Calling B.doSomething() will always print "required" before it proceeds.
Since doOptional() is not abstract, there's no purely code reason that class A needs to be abstract. But it might be desired for your particular project. For example, a base service that is always extended into specific sub-projects.
This can be useful for cases when the classes derived from the abstract base class must have some behaviour that is different from each other but that behaviour can not be abstracted as residing within a method that has the same signature for all the classes. Being unable to share a signature can occur if the different behaviour requires methods that are passed different primitive types. Because they use primitive types you can not use generics to express the similarity.
An abstract base class without any abstract methods is acting a bit like a marker interface, in that it is declaring that implementing classes must provide some behaviour without having that behaviour encapsulated within a new method with a signature that is the same for all implementations. You would use an abstract base class rather than a marker interface when the implementing classes have some behaviour in common, especially if the base class can implement it for the derived classes.
For example:
abstract class Sender {
protected final void beginMessage() {
...
}
protected final void endMessage() {
...
}
protected final void appendToMessage(int x) {
...
}
}
final class LongSender extends Sender {
public void send(int a, int b, int c) {
beginMessage();
appendToMessage(a);
appendToMessage(b);
appendToMessage(c);
endMessage();
}
}
final class ShortSender extends Sender {
public void send(int a) {
beginMessage();
appendToMessage(a);
endMessage();
}
}
It can be useful if you consider it an utility class.

How to call abstract class methods to another class in java

can anybody tell me that. how can I call abstract class method to my own class in java?
thanks in advance
First of all look at you abstract class, it shall contain abstract methods and real methods. In the following sample the Foo class has an abstract method (FooMethod) and a real method (Yeee).
public abstract class Foo {
public abstract int FooMethod(int i);
public int Yeeee() {
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
int res = FooMethod(i);
// Do whatever
}
}
}
Abstract class are not meant to be directly used, so we have to inherit from them with a concrete class. The following inherits from the abstract (implementing the abstract method)
public class Bar extends Foo {
public int FooMethod(int i) {
// do something with i
}
public static void main (string [] args) {
Bar obj = new Bar();
obj.Yeeee();
}
}
Note: when in the main you call obj.Yeee() the base class method gets invoked, but in place of the abstract FooMethod, your own new implementation is used.
This is just the tip of the iceberg with abstract classes, but roughly should point you to the right direction.
Please take a good read here is a good tutorial and should give you some initial wisdom about inheritance and abstract classes.
You need to first create a subclass of the abstract class. This will then contain the methods of that abstract class. You use the "extends" keyword.
For example:
public class MyClass extends AbstractClass
{
//class content here...
}
For methods in abstract classes you need not to create the instance of the abstract class
So after importing the package in which the abstract class is present you can just call the method as below
YourAbstractClassName.methodName(args if any);
since abstract classes cant be instanciated in Java, You cant have member functions in this class and if you want to have one than their is a logical problem. However if you want to call the static methods, you can simply call them using class name, i.e.
YourClassName.fuctionName(parameters if any);
Do you mean how to implement that method in your class ?
if that is what you want to understand
then you just have to extend your class with the abstract one
for example
abstract class GraphicObject {....}
class Circle extends GraphicObject { ... }
try http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/IandI/abstract.html
You can call the method in abstract class by creating an
object of subclasss of the abstract class
or
if u want to call from the abstract class then you have to make your method static then you can call from main method like
Abstract_className.methodName()

Abstract class in Java

What is an "abstract class" in Java?
An abstract class is a class which cannot be instantiated. An abstract class is used by creating an inheriting subclass that can be instantiated. An abstract class does a few things for the inheriting subclass:
Define methods which can be used by the inheriting subclass.
Define abstract methods which the inheriting subclass must implement.
Provide a common interface which allows the subclass to be interchanged with all other subclasses.
Here's an example:
abstract public class AbstractClass
{
abstract public void abstractMethod();
public void implementedMethod() { System.out.print("implementedMethod()"); }
final public void finalMethod() { System.out.print("finalMethod()"); }
}
Notice that "abstractMethod()" doesn't have any method body. Because of this, you can't do the following:
public class ImplementingClass extends AbstractClass
{
// ERROR!
}
There's no method that implements abstractMethod()! So there's no way for the JVM to know what it's supposed to do when it gets something like new ImplementingClass().abstractMethod().
Here's a correct ImplementingClass.
public class ImplementingClass extends AbstractClass
{
public void abstractMethod() { System.out.print("abstractMethod()"); }
}
Notice that you don't have to define implementedMethod() or finalMethod(). They were already defined by AbstractClass.
Here's another correct ImplementingClass.
public class ImplementingClass extends AbstractClass
{
public void abstractMethod() { System.out.print("abstractMethod()"); }
public void implementedMethod() { System.out.print("Overridden!"); }
}
In this case, you have overridden implementedMethod().
However, because of the final keyword, the following is not possible.
public class ImplementingClass extends AbstractClass
{
public void abstractMethod() { System.out.print("abstractMethod()"); }
public void implementedMethod() { System.out.print("Overridden!"); }
public void finalMethod() { System.out.print("ERROR!"); }
}
You can't do this because the implementation of finalMethod() in AbstractClass is marked as the final implementation of finalMethod(): no other implementations will be allowed, ever.
Now you can also implement an abstract class twice:
public class ImplementingClass extends AbstractClass
{
public void abstractMethod() { System.out.print("abstractMethod()"); }
public void implementedMethod() { System.out.print("Overridden!"); }
}
// In a separate file.
public class SecondImplementingClass extends AbstractClass
{
public void abstractMethod() { System.out.print("second abstractMethod()"); }
}
Now somewhere you could write another method.
public tryItOut()
{
ImplementingClass a = new ImplementingClass();
AbstractClass b = new ImplementingClass();
a.abstractMethod(); // prints "abstractMethod()"
a.implementedMethod(); // prints "Overridden!" <-- same
a.finalMethod(); // prints "finalMethod()"
b.abstractMethod(); // prints "abstractMethod()"
b.implementedMethod(); // prints "Overridden!" <-- same
b.finalMethod(); // prints "finalMethod()"
SecondImplementingClass c = new SecondImplementingClass();
AbstractClass d = new SecondImplementingClass();
c.abstractMethod(); // prints "second abstractMethod()"
c.implementedMethod(); // prints "implementedMethod()"
c.finalMethod(); // prints "finalMethod()"
d.abstractMethod(); // prints "second abstractMethod()"
d.implementedMethod(); // prints "implementedMethod()"
d.finalMethod(); // prints "finalMethod()"
}
Notice that even though we declared b an AbstractClass type, it displays "Overriden!". This is because the object we instantiated was actually an ImplementingClass, whose implementedMethod() is of course overridden. (You may have seen this referred to as polymorphism.)
If we wish to access a member specific to a particular subclass, we must cast down to that subclass first:
// Say ImplementingClass also contains uniqueMethod()
// To access it, we use a cast to tell the runtime which type the object is
AbstractClass b = new ImplementingClass();
((ImplementingClass)b).uniqueMethod();
Lastly, you cannot do the following:
public class ImplementingClass extends AbstractClass, SomeOtherAbstractClass
{
... // implementation
}
Only one class can be extended at a time. If you need to extend multiple classes, they have to be interfaces. You can do this:
public class ImplementingClass extends AbstractClass implements InterfaceA, InterfaceB
{
... // implementation
}
Here's an example interface:
interface InterfaceA
{
void interfaceMethod();
}
This is basically the same as:
abstract public class InterfaceA
{
abstract public void interfaceMethod();
}
The only difference is that the second way doesn't let the compiler know that it's actually an interface. This can be useful if you want people to only implement your interface and no others. However, as a general beginner rule of thumb, if your abstract class only has abstract methods, you should probably make it an interface.
The following is illegal:
interface InterfaceB
{
void interfaceMethod() { System.out.print("ERROR!"); }
}
You cannot implement methods in an interface. This means that if you implement two different interfaces, the different methods in those interfaces can't collide. Since all the methods in an interface are abstract, you have to implement the method, and since your method is the only implementation in the inheritance tree, the compiler knows that it has to use your method.
A Java class becomes abstract under the following conditions:
1. At least one of the methods is marked as abstract:
public abstract void myMethod()
In that case the compiler forces you to mark the whole class as abstract.
2. The class is marked as abstract:
abstract class MyClass
As already said: If you have an abstract method the compiler forces you to mark the whole class as abstract. But even if you don't have any abstract method you can still mark the class as abstract.
Common use:
A common use of abstract classes is to provide an outline of a class similar like an interface does. But unlike an interface it can already provide functionality, i.e. some parts of the class are implemented and some parts are just outlined with a method declaration. ("abstract")
An abstract class cannot be instantiated, but you can create a concrete class based on an abstract class, which then can be instantiated. To do so you have to inherit from the abstract class and override the abstract methods, i.e. implement them.
A class that is declared using the abstract keyword is known as abstract class.
Abstraction is a process of hiding the data implementation details, and showing only functionality to the user. Abstraction lets you focus on what the object does instead of how it does it.
Main things of abstract class
An abstract class may or may not contain abstract methods.There can be non abstract methods.
An abstract method is a method that is declared without an
implementation (without braces, and followed by a semicolon), like this:
ex : abstract void moveTo(double deltaX, double deltaY);
If a class has at least one abstract method then that class must be abstract
Abstract classes may not be instantiated (You are not allowed to create object of Abstract class)
To use an abstract class, you have to inherit it from another class. Provide implementations to all the abstract methods in it.
If you inherit an abstract class, you have to provide implementations to all the abstract methods in it.
Declare abstract class
Specifying abstract keyword before the class during declaration makes it abstract. Have a look at the code below:
abstract class AbstractDemo{ }
Declare abstract method
Specifying abstract keyword before the method during declaration makes it abstract. Have a look at the code below,
abstract void moveTo();//no body
Why we need to abstract classes
In an object-oriented drawing application, you can draw circles, rectangles, lines, Bezier curves, and many other graphic objects. These objects all have certain states (for ex -: position, orientation, line color, fill color) and behaviors (for ex -: moveTo, rotate, resize, draw) in common. Some of these states and behaviors are the same for all graphic objects (for ex : fill color, position, and moveTo). Others require different implementation(for ex: resize or draw). All graphic objects must be able to draw or resize themselves, they just differ in how they do it.
This is a perfect situation for an abstract superclass. You can take advantage of the similarities, and declare all the graphic objects to inherit from the same abstract parent object (for ex : GraphicObject) as shown in the following figure.
First, you declare an abstract class, GraphicObject, to provide member variables and methods that are wholly shared by all subclasses, such as the current position and the moveTo method. GraphicObject also declared abstract methods, such as draw or resize, that need to be a implemented by all subclasses but must be implemented in different ways. The GraphicObject class can look something like this:
abstract class GraphicObject {
void moveTo(int x, int y) {
// Inside this method we have to change the position of the graphic
// object according to x,y
// This is the same in every GraphicObject. Then we can implement here.
}
abstract void draw(); // But every GraphicObject drawing case is
// unique, not common. Then we have to create that
// case inside each class. Then create these
// methods as abstract
abstract void resize();
}
Usage of abstract method in sub classes
Each non abstract subclasses of GraphicObject, such as Circle and Rectangle, must provide implementations for the draw and resize methods.
class Circle extends GraphicObject {
void draw() {
//Add to some implementation here
}
void resize() {
//Add to some implementation here
}
}
class Rectangle extends GraphicObject {
void draw() {
//Add to some implementation here
}
void resize() {
//Add to some implementation here
}
}
Inside the main method you can call all methods like this:
public static void main(String args[]){
GraphicObject c = new Circle();
c.draw();
c.resize();
c.moveTo(4,5);
}
Ways to achieve abstraction in Java
There are two ways to achieve abstraction in java
Abstract class (0 to 100%)
Interface (100%)
Abstract class with constructors, data members, methods, etc
abstract class GraphicObject {
GraphicObject (){
System.out.println("GraphicObject is created");
}
void moveTo(int y, int x) {
System.out.println("Change position according to "+ x+ " and " + y);
}
abstract void draw();
}
class Circle extends GraphicObject {
void draw() {
System.out.println("Draw the Circle");
}
}
class TestAbstract {
public static void main(String args[]){
GraphicObject grObj = new Circle ();
grObj.draw();
grObj.moveTo(4,6);
}
}
Output:
GraphicObject is created
Draw the Circle
Change position according to 6 and 4
Remember two rules:
If the class has few abstract methods and few concrete methods,
declare it as an abstract class.
If the class has only abstract methods, declare it as an interface.
References:
TutorialsPoint - Java Abstraction
BeginnersBook - Java Abstract Class Method
Java Docs - Abstract Methods and Classes
JavaPoint - Abstract Class in Java
It's a class that cannot be instantiated, and forces implementing classes to, possibly, implement abstract methods that it outlines.
Simply speaking, you can think of an abstract class as like an Interface with a bit more capabilities.
You cannot instantiate an Interface, which also holds for an abstract class.
On your interface you can just define the method headers and ALL of the implementers are forced to implement all of them. On an abstract class you can also define your method headers but here - to the difference of the interface - you can also define the body (usually a default implementation) of the method. Moreover when other classes extend (note, not implement and therefore you can also have just one abstract class per child class) your abstract class, they are not forced to implement all of your methods of your abstract class, unless you specified an abstract method (in such case it works like for interfaces, you cannot define the method body).
public abstract class MyAbstractClass{
public abstract void DoSomething();
}
Otherwise for normal methods of an abstract class, the "inheriters" can either just use the default behavior or override it, as usual.
Example:
public abstract class MyAbstractClass{
public int CalculateCost(int amount){
//do some default calculations
//this can be overriden by subclasses if needed
}
//this MUST be implemented by subclasses
public abstract void DoSomething();
}
From oracle documentation
Abstract Methods and Classes:
An abstract class is a class that is declared abstract—it may or may not include abstract methods
Abstract classes cannot be instantiated, but they can be subclassed
An abstract method is a method that is declared without an implementation (without braces, and followed by a semicolon), like this:
abstract void moveTo(double deltaX, double deltaY);
If a class includes abstract methods, then the class itself must be declared abstract, as in:
public abstract class GraphicObject {
// declare fields
// declare nonabstract methods
abstract void draw();
}
When an abstract class is subclassed, the subclass usually provides implementations for all of the abstract methods in its parent class. However, if it does not, then the subclass must also be declared abstract.
Since abstract classes and interfaces are related, have a look at below SE questions:
What is the difference between an interface and abstract class?
How should I have explained the difference between an Interface and an Abstract class?
Get your answers here:
Abstract class vs Interface in Java
Can an abstract class have a final method?
BTW - those are question you asked recently. Think about a new question to build up reputation...
Edit:
Just realized, that the posters of this and the referenced questions have the same or at least similiar name but the user-id is always different. So either, there's a technical problem, that keyur has problems logging in again and finding the answers to his questions or this is a sort of game to entertain the SO community ;)
Little addition to all these posts.
Sometimes you may want to declare a
class and yet not know how to define
all of the methods that belong to that
class. For example, you may want to
declare a class called Writer and
include in it a member method called
write(). However, you don't know how to code write() because it is
different for each type of Writer
devices. Of course, you plan to handle
this by deriving subclass of Writer,
such as Printer, Disk, Network and
Console.
An abstract class can not be directly instantiated, but must be derived from to be usable. A class MUST be abstract if it contains abstract methods: either directly
abstract class Foo {
abstract void someMethod();
}
or indirectly
interface IFoo {
void someMethod();
}
abstract class Foo2 implements IFoo {
}
However, a class can be abstract without containing abstract methods. Its a way to prevent direct instantation, e.g.
abstract class Foo3 {
}
class Bar extends Foo3 {
}
Foo3 myVar = new Foo3(); // illegal! class is abstract
Foo3 myVar = new Bar(); // allowed!
The latter style of abstract classes may be used to create "interface-like" classes. Unlike interfaces an abstract class is allowed to contain non-abstract methods and instance variables. You can use this to provide some base functionality to extending classes.
Another frequent pattern is to implement the main functionality in the abstract class and define part of the algorithm in an abstract method to be implemented by an extending class. Stupid example:
abstract class Processor {
protected abstract int[] filterInput(int[] unfiltered);
public int process(int[] values) {
int[] filtered = filterInput(values);
// do something with filtered input
}
}
class EvenValues extends Processor {
protected int[] filterInput(int[] unfiltered) {
// remove odd numbers
}
}
class OddValues extends Processor {
protected int[] filterInput(int[] unfiltered) {
// remove even numbers
}
}
Solution - base class (abstract)
public abstract class Place {
String Name;
String Postcode;
String County;
String Area;
Place () {
}
public static Place make(String Incoming) {
if (Incoming.length() < 61) return (null);
String Name = (Incoming.substring(4,26)).trim();
String County = (Incoming.substring(27,48)).trim();
String Postcode = (Incoming.substring(48,61)).trim();
String Area = (Incoming.substring(61)).trim();
Place created;
if (Name.equalsIgnoreCase(Area)) {
created = new Area(Area,County,Postcode);
} else {
created = new District(Name,County,Postcode,Area);
}
return (created);
}
public String getName() {
return (Name);
}
public String getPostcode() {
return (Postcode);
}
public String getCounty() {
return (County);
}
public abstract String getArea();
}
What is Abstract class?
Ok! lets take an example you known little bit about chemistry we have an element carbon(symbol C).Carbon has some basic atomic structure which you can't change but using carbon you can make so many compounds like (CO2),Methane(CH4),Butane(C4H10).
So Here carbon is abstract class and you do not want to change its basic structure however you want their childrens(CO2,CH4 etc) to use it.But in their own way
An abstract class is a class that is declared abstract — it may or may not include abstract methods. Abstract classes cannot be instantiated, but they can be subclassed.
In other words, a class that is declared with abstract keyword, is known as abstract class in java. It can have abstract(method without body) and non-abstract methods (method with body).
Important Note:-
Abstract classes cannot be used to instantiate objects, they can be used to create object references, because Java's approach to run-time Polymorphism is implemented through the use of superclass references. Thus, it must be possible to create a reference to an abstract class so that it can be used to point to a subclass object. You will see this feature in the below example
abstract class Bike{
abstract void run();
}
class Honda4 extends Bike{
void run(){
System.out.println("running safely..");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
Bike obj = new Honda4();
obj.run();
}
}
An abstract class is one that isn't fully implemented but provides something of a blueprint for subclasses. It may be partially implemented in that it contains fully-defined concrete methods, but it can also hold abstract methods. These are methods with a signature but no method body. Any subclass must define a body for each abstract method, otherwise it too must be declared abstract.
Because abstract classes cannot be instantiated, they must be extended by at least one subclass in order to be utilized. Think of the abstract class as the generic class, and the subclasses are there to fill in the missing information.
Class which can have both concrete and non-concrete methods i.e. with and without body.
Methods without implementation must contain 'abstract' keyword.
Abstract class can't be instantiated.
It do nothing, just provide a common template that will be shared for it's subclass

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