CODEWITHSUNDEEP
java
Dennis Salibio
Dennis Salibio

Reputation: 151

Overriding Protected Methods

I'm new to Java and I have a very basic question.

I have 2 Parent Class under the same package. Animal Abstract Class and the Machine Class.

Now, the Animal Abstract Class has a protected method. I'm aware that protected methods are accessible if the classes are under the same package.

I can access that protected method in my Machine Class, and the question is.. Is it possible to override that protected method? Without extending the Animal Class.

Upvotes: 14

Views: 52000

Answers (5)

amicngh
amicngh

Reputation: 7899

No , Overriding means inherit the behavior from parent class and that is not possible without extending the class.

public class PClass
{
    protected boolean methodA()
    {
        return true;
    }
}

public class CClass  extends PClass
{
    protected boolean methodA()
    {
        return false;
    }
}

Run the code below to test it

public static void main(String[] args) 
{

    PClass pc = new CClass();
    System.out.println(pc.methodA());

}

O/p=false

here we are overriding the behavior of methodA

Upvotes: 2

ᴇʟᴇvᴀтᴇ
ᴇʟᴇvᴀтᴇ

Reputation: 12751

You can only override methods through extension.

You can override a protected method with an anonymous subclass, if you like. E.g.

public class Animal {

    protected String getSound() {
        return "(Silence)";
    }

    public void speak() {
        System.out.println(getSound());
    }
}

In another class:

public static void main(String ... args) {

    Animal dog = new Animal() {

        @Override
        protected String getSound() {
            return "Woof!";
        }   
    }

    dog.speak();
}

Will output:

Woof!

Upvotes: 10

Bharat Sinha
Bharat Sinha

Reputation: 14363

Overriding by definition says..

An instance method in a subclass with the same signature (name, plus the number and the type of its parameters) and return type as an instance method in the superclass overrides the superclass's method.

So AFAIK if you don't extend the super class there is no way to override the method.

Upvotes: 0

tibtof
tibtof

Reputation: 7957

In order to override a method you have to extend that class. That's what overriding means: having a method with the same signature as the super-class.

Upvotes: 0

Jeshurun
Jeshurun

Reputation: 23186

  • protected - Can be overridden by subclasses, whether they are in the same package or not
  • default (no access modifier) - can only be accessed or overridden if both the classes are in the same package

Upvotes: 37

Related Questions