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In the previous chapter we talked about super classes and sub classes. If a class inherits a method from its super class, then there is a chance to override the method provided that it is not marked final. The benefit of overriding is: ability to define a behavior that's specific to the sub class type. Which means a subclass can implement a parent class method based on its requirement. In object oriented terms, overriding means to override the functionality of any existing method.
Example:
Output:
In the above example you can see that the even though b is a type of Animal it runs the move method in the Dog class. The reason for this is : In compile time the check is made on the reference type. However in the runtime JVM figures out the object type and would run the method that belongs to that particular object.
Therefore in the above example, the program will compile properly since Animal class has the method move. Then at the runtime it runs the method specific for that object. Consider the following example:
Output:
This program will throw a compile time error since b's reference type Animal doesn't have a method by the name of bark.
Rules for method overriding:
Using the super keyword:
When invoking a superclass version of an overridden method the super keyword is used.
Output: