@Override when extending an abstract class

Hi!
I have an abstract class A with one abstract method B. I then created a class C which extended A. Eclipse then automatically created the abstract method. But it also added @Override.
Like this:
@Override
protected void B()
// something
}What does the @Override do?

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/javaOO/annotations.html

Similar Messages

Can an abstract class extend another abstract class?

Is it possible for an abstract class to extend another abstract class?
Say
public abstract class AComponent extends JComponent {
Thanks.

Yes

When to use abstract class compared to interface

hi
can some one plase advise me when to use abstract class compared to interface?
Example will be appreciated...

So an abstract class can carry implementation. This can be used to formulate a rule of thumb as to when to use it over an interface.
If you have a so called type specialization relationship between the subtypes and the supertype then they're likely to benefit from shared implementation provided by the supertype, so use class (abstract or concrete) extension in this case. Type specialization is when the supertype represents a general concept like Fruit and the subtypes are specialized forms of that like Apple and Banana.
Another common kind of relationship is called type expansion. In this case the subtypes are unlikely to have any use of implementation provided by the supertype, so use interface implementation. Type expansion is when the supertype represents a specific character the subtypes take on. For example Apple and Bicycle ure unrelated in the type specialization sense but still can share a common character like Comparable. The subtypes have been expanded to include the supertype character, namely the ability to be compared.

When to use abstract classes instead of interfaces with extension methods in C#?

"Abstract class" and "interface" are similar concepts, with interface being the more abstract of the two. One differentiating factor is that abstract classes provide method implementations for derived classes when needed. In C#, however,
this differentiating factor has been reduced by the recent introduction of extension methods, which enable implementations to be provided for interface methods. Another differentiating factor is that a class can inherit only one abstract class (i.e., there
is no multiple inheritance), but it can implement multiple interfaces. This makes interfaces less restrictive and more flexible. So, in C#, when should we use abstract classes
instead of interfaces with extension methods?
A notable example of the interface + extension method model is LINQ, where query functionality is provided for any type that implements IEnumerable via
a multitude of extension methods.

Hi
Well I believe Interfaces have more uses in software design. You could decouple your component implementing against interfaces so that
you have more flexibility on changing your code with less risk. Like Inversion of Control patterns where you can use interfaces and then when you decide you can change the concrete implementation that you want to use. Or other uses for interfaces is you could
use Interceptors using interfaces (Unity
Interceptor) to do different things where not all of these is feasible or at least as straightforward using abstract classes.
Regards
Aram

Using the UI editor for a class that extends an abstract class

Hi,
At the moment it's unfortunately impossible to use the UI editor to edit a class that extends a certain abstract class. There is a way to circumvent this problem, by using a proxy class. Does anyone know how to create a proxy class for this purpose and how to register it?
Hopefully a future JDeveloper release will solve this problem. Is this a planned feature?
Regards,
Peter

I hope it works for you now (why using , but not indentation?).

Extending abstract classes such as ByteBuffer?

How would I extend an abstract class such as ByteBuffer?
If I call the normal extends key word:
public class MyBuffer extends ByteBuffer
then I need to implement virtually every method in the class.
But If I just create a ByteBuffer such as:
ByteBuffer buf = BtyeBuffer.Allocate(100);
then I can just go and use all of the various methods witin the class without have to implement anything.
But I need to add an additional method to ByteBuffer . What is the best way to do this? I realize I can encapsulate a ByteBuffer object but that does not sound like a good idea.
Is there a better way? If so what?

Thanks. Well that gets me started.
I have:
public abstract class SerialPortBuffer extends ByteBuffer {
and I am getting:
Implicit super constructor ByteBuffer() is undefined for default constructor. Must define an explicit constructor
How do I fix this? Sorry for the newbie questions.

Can interface extend abstract class?

Can interface extend abstract class?
I tried to make a interface extend an abstract class but i got an error stating:
interface expected here.
Can anyone help me ?

> ok, but can an interface implement an abstract class?
No. An interface provides no implementation whatsoever. An abstract class can implement an interface, but not the other way around.
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/concepts/interface.html
~

Abstract Class & Interface

Hi ,
I have a fundamental doubt regarding Abstract Class & Interface!!!
What is their real benefit...whether we implement an interface or extend an Abstract class we have to write the code for the abstract method in the concrete class.Then where the benefit remained....
And it is said that Abstract class provide default behaviour...what is the actual meaning of that?
Thanks & Regards
Santosh

In this section we will redesign our OneRowNim game to fit within a hierarchy of classes of two-player games. There are many games that characteristically involve two players: checkers, chess, tic-tac-toe, guessing games, and so forth. However, there are also many games that involve just one player: blackjack, solitaire, and others. There are also games that involve two or more players, such as many card games. Thus, our redesign of OneRowNim as part of a two-player game hierarchy will not be our last effort to design a hierarchy of game-playing classes. We will certainly redesign things as we learn new Java language constructs and as we try to extend our game library to other kinds of games.
This case study will illustrate how we can apply inheritance and polymorphism, as well as other object-oriented design principles. The justification for revising OneRowNim at this point is to make it easier to design and develop other two-player games. As we have seen, one characteristic of class hierarchies is that more general attributes and methods are defined in top-level classes. As one proceeds down the hierarchy, the methods and attributes become more specialized. Creating a subclass is a matter of specializing a given class.
8.6.1. Design Goals
One of our design goals is to revise the OneRowNim game so that it fits into a hierarchy of two-player games. One way to do this is to generalize the OneRowNim game by creating a superclass that contains those attributes and methods that are common to all two-player games. The superclass will define the most general and generic elements of two-player games. All two-player games, including OneRowNim, will be defined as subclasses of this top-level superclass and will inherit and possibly override its public and protected variables and methods. Also, our top-level class will contain certain abstract methods, whose implementations will be given in OneRowNim and other subclasses.
Generic superclass
A second goal is to design a class hierarchy that makes it possible for computers to play the game, as well as human users. Thus, for a given two-player game, it should be possible for two humans to play each other, or for two computers to play each other, or for a human to play against a computer. This design goal will require that our design exhibit a certain amount of flexibility. As we shall see, this is a situation in which Java interfaces will come in handy.
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Another important goal is to design a two-player game hierarchy that can easily be used with a variety of different user interfaces, including command-line interfaces and GUIs. To handle this feature, we will develop Java interfaces to serve as interfaces between our two-player games and various user interfaces.
8.6.2. Designing the TwoPlayerGame Class
To begin revising the design of the OneRowNim game, we first need to design a top-level class, which we will call the TwoPlayerGame class. What variables and methods belong in this class? One way to answer this question is to generalize our current version of OneRowNim by moving any variables and methods that apply to all two-player games up to the TwoPlayerGame class. All subclasses of TwoPlayerGamewhich includes the OneRowNim classwould inherit these elements. Figure 8.18 shows the current design of OneRowNim.
Figure 8.18. The current OneRowNim class.
What variables and methods should we move up to the TwoPlayerGame class? Clearly, the class constants, PLAYER_ONE and PLAYER_TWO, apply to all two-player games. These should be moved up. On the other hand, the MAX_PICKUP and MAX_STICKS constants apply just to the OneRowNim game. They should remain in the OneRowNim class.
The nSticks instance variable is a variable that only applies to the OneRowNim game but not to other two-player games. It should stay in the OneRowNim class. On the other hand, the onePlaysNext variable applies to all two-player games, so we will move it up to the TwoPlayerGame class.
Because constructors are not inherited, all of the constructor methods will remain in the OneRowNim class. The instance methods, takeSticks() and getSticks(), are specific to OneRowNim, so they should remain there. However, the other methods, getPlayer(), gameOver(), getWinner(), and reportGameState(), are methods that would be useful to all two-player games. Therefore these methods should be moved up to the superclass. Of course, while these methods can be defined in the superclass, some of them can only be implemented in subclasses. For example, the reportGameState() method reports the current state of the game, so it has to be implemented in OneRowNim. Similarly, the getWinner() method defines how the winner of the game is determined, a definition that can only occur in the subclass. Every two-player game needs methods such as these. Therefore, we will define these methods as abstract methods in the superclass. The intention is that TwoPlayerGame subclasses will provide game-specific implementations for these methods.
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Constructors are not inherited
Given these considerations, we come up with the design shown in Figure 8.19. The design shown in this figure is much more complex than the designs used in earlier chapters. However, the complexity comes from combining ideas already discussed in previous sections of this chapter, so don't be put off by it.
Figure 8.19. TwoPlayerGame is the superclass for OneRowNim and other two-player games.
To begin with, note that we have introduced two Java interfaces into our design in addition to the TwoPlayerGame superclass. As we will show, these interfaces lead to a more flexible design and one that can easily be extended to incorporate new two-player games. Let's take each element of this design separately.
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8.6.3. The TwoPlayerGame Superclass
As we have stated, the purpose of the TwoPlayerGame class is to serve as the superclass for all two-player games. Therefore, it should define the variables and methods shared by two-player games.
The PLAYER_ONE, PLAYER_TWO, and onePlaysNext variables and the getPlayer(), setPlayer(), and changePlayer() methods have been moved up from the OneRowNim class. Clearly, these variables and methods apply to all two-player games. Note that we have also added three new variables, nComputers, computer1, computer2, and their corresponding methods, getNComputers() and addComputerPlayer(). We will use these elements to give our games the capability to be played by computer programs. Because we want all of our two-player games to have this capability, we define these variables and methods in the superclass rather than in OneRowNim and subclasses of TwoPlayerGame.
Note that the computer1 and computer2 variables are declared to be of type IPlayer. IPlayer is an interface containing a single method declaration, the makeAMove() method:
public interface IPlayer {
public String makeAMove(String prompt);
Why do we use an interface here rather than some type of game-playing object? This is a good design question. Using an interface here makes our design more flexible and extensible because it frees us from having to know the names of the classes that implement the makeAMove() method. The variables computer1 and computer2 will be assigned objects that implement IPlayer via the addComputerPlayer() method.
Game-dependent algorithms
The algorithms used in the various implementations of makeAMove() are game-dependentthey depend on the particular game being played. It would be impossible to define a game playing object that would suffice for all two-player games. Instead, if we want an object that plays OneRowNim, we would define a OneRowNimPlayer and have it implement the IPlayer interface. Similarly, if we want an object that plays checkers, we would define a CheckersPlayer and have it implement the IPlayer interface. By using an interface here, our TwoPlayerGame hierarchy can deal with a wide range of differently named objects that play games, as long as they implement the IPlayer interface. Using the IPlayer interface adds flexibility to our game hierarchy and makes it easier to extend it to new, yet undefined, classes. We will discuss the details of how to design a game player in Section 8.6.7.
The IPlayer interface
Turning now to the methods defined in TwoPlayerGame, we have already seen implementations of getPlayer(), setPlayer(), and changePlayer() in the OneRowNim class. We will just move those implementations up to the superclass. The getNComputers() method is the assessor method for the nComputers variable, and its implementation is routine. The addComputerPlayer() method adds a computer player to the game. Its implementation is as follows:
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public void addComputerPlayer(IPlayer player) {
if (nComputers == 0)
computer2 = player;
else if (nComputers == 1)
computer1 = player;
else
return; // No more than 2 players
++nComputers;
As we noted earlier, the classes that play the various TwoPlayerGames must implement the IPlayer interface. The parameter for this method is of type IPlayer. The algorithm we use checks the current value of nComputers. If it is 0, which means that this is the first IPlayer added to the game, the player is assigned to computer2. This allows the human user to be associated with PLAYERONE if this is a game between a computer and a human user.
If nComputers equals 1, which means that we are adding a second IPlayer to the game, we assign that player to computer1. In either of these cases, we increment nComputers. Note what happens if nComputers is neither 1 nor 2. In that case, we simply return without adding the IPlayer to the game and without incrementing nComputers. This, in effect, limits the number of IPlayers to two. (A more sophisticated design would throw an exception to report an error. but we will leave that for a subsequent chapter.)
The addComputerPlayer() method is used to initialize a game after it is first created. If this method is not called, the default assumption is that nComputers equals zero and that computer1 and computer2 are both null. Here's an example of how it could be used:
OneRowNim nim = new OneRowNim(11); // 11 sticks
nim.add(new NimPlayer(nim)); // 2 computer players
nim.add(new NimPlayerBad(nim));
Note that the NimPlayer() constructor takes a reference to the game as its argument. Clearly, our design should not assume that the names of the IPlayer objects would be known to the TwoPlayerGame superclass. This method allows the objects to be passed in at runtime. We will discuss the details of NimPlayerBad in Section 8.6.7.
The getrules() method is a new method whose purpose is to return a string that describes the rules of the particular game. This method is implemented in the TwoPlayerGame class with the intention that it will be overridden in the various subclasses. For example, its implementation in TwoPlayerGame is:
public String getRules() {
return "The rules of this game are: ";
Overriding a method
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and its redefinition in OneRowNim is:
public String getRules() {
return "\n*** The Rules of One Row Nim ***\n" +
"(1) A number of sticks between 7 and " + MAX_STICKS +
" is chosen.\n" +
"(2) Two players alternate making moves.\n" +
"(3) A move consists of subtracting between 1 and\n\t" +
MAX_PICKUP +
" sticks from the current number of sticks.\n" +
"(4) A player who cannot leave a positive\n\t" +
" number of sticks for the other player loses.\n";
The idea is that each TwoPlayerGame subclass will take responsibility for specifying its own set of rules in a form that can be displayed to the user.
You might recognize that defining geTRules() in the superclass and allowing it to be overridden in the subclasses is a form of polymorphism. It follows the design of the toString() method, which we discussed earlier. This design will allow us to use code that takes the following form:
TwoPlayerGame game = new OneRowNim();
System.out.println(game.getRules());
Polymorphism
In this example the call to getrules() is polymorphic. The dynamic-binding mechanism is used to invoke the getrules() method defined in the OneRowNim class.
The remaining methods in TwoPlayerGame are defined abstractly. The gameOver() and getWinner() methods are both game-dependent methods. That is, the details of their implementations depend on the particular TwoPlayerGame subclass in which they are implemented.
This is good example of how abstract methods should be used in designing a class hierarchy. We give abstract definitions in the superclass and leave the detailed implementations up to the individual subclasses. This allows the different subclasses to tailor the implementations to their particular needs, while allowing all subclasses to share a common signature for these tasks. This enables us to use polymorphism to create flexible, extensible class hierarchies.
Figure 8.20 shows the complete implementation of the abstract TwoPlayerGame class. We have already discussed the most important details of its implementation.
Figure 8.20. The TwoPlayerGame class
(This item is displayed on page 381 in the print version)
public abstract class TwoPlayerGame {
public static final int PLAYER_ONE = 1;
public static final int PLAYER_TWO = 2;
protected boolean onePlaysNext = true;
protected int nComputers = 0; // How many computers
// Computers are IPlayers
protected IPlayer computer1, computer2;
public void setPlayer(int starter) {
if (starter == PLAYER_TWO)
onePlaysNext = false;
else onePlaysNext = true;
} // setPlayer()
public int getPlayer() {
if (onePlaysNext)
return PLAYER_ONE;
else return PLAYER_TWO;
} // getPlayer()
public void changePlayer() {
onePlaysNext = !onePlaysNext;
} // changePlayer()
public int getNComputers() {
return nComputers;
} // getNComputers()
public String getRules() {
return "The rules of this game are: ";
} // getRules()
public void addComputerPlayer(IPlayer player) {
if (nComputers == 0)
computer2 = player;
else if (nComputers == 1)
computer1 = player;
else
return; // No more than 2 players
++nComputers;
} // addComputerPlayer()
public abstract boolean gameOver(); // Abstract Methods
public abstract String getWinner();
} // TwoPlayerGame class
Effective Design: Abstract Methods
Abstract methods allow you to give general definitions in the superclass and leave the implementation details to the different subclasses.
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8.6.4. The CLUIPlayableGame Interface
We turn now to the two interfaces shown in Figure 8.19. Taken together, the purpose of these interfaces is to create a connection between any two-player game and a command-line user interface (CLUI). The interfaces provide method signatures for the methods that will implement the details of the interaction between a TwoPlayerGame and a UserInterface. Because the details of this interaction vary from game to game, it is best to leave the implementation of these methods to the games themselves.
Note that CLUIPlayableGame extends the IGame interface. The IGame interface contains two methods that are used to define a standard form of communication between the CLUI and the game. The getGamePrompt() method defines the prompt used to signal the user for a move of some kindfor example, "How many sticks do you take (1, 2, or 3)?" And the reportGameState() method defines how the game will report its current statefor example, "There are 11 sticks remaining." CLUIPlayableGame adds the play() method to these two methods. As we will see shortly, the play() method contains the code that will control the playing of the game.
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Extending an interface
The source code for these interfaces is very simple:
public interface CLUIPlayableGame extends IGame {
public abstract void play(UserInterface ui);
public interface IGame {
public String getGamePrompt();
public String reportGameState();
} // IGame
Note that the CLUIPlayableGame interface extends the IGame interface. A CLUIPlayableGame is a game that can be played through a CLUI. The purpose of its play() method is to contain the game-dependent control loop that determines how the game is played via a user interface (UI). In pseudocode, a typical control loop for a game would look something like the following:
Initialize the game.
While the game is not over
Report the current state of the game via the UI.
Prompt the user (or the computer) to make a move via the UI.
Get the user's move via the UI.
Make the move.
Change to the other player.
The play loop sets up an interaction between the game and the UI. The UserInterface parameter allows the game to connect directly to a particular UI. To allow us to play our games through a variety of UIs, we define UserInterface as the following Java interface:
public interface UserInterface {
public String getUserInput();
public void report(String s);
public void prompt(String s);
Any object that implements these three methods can serve as a UI for one of our TwoPlayerGames. This is another example of the flexibility of using interfaces in object-oriented design.
To illustrate how we use UserInterface, let's attach it to our KeyboardReader class, thereby letting a KeyboardReader serve as a CLUI for TwoPlayerGames. We do this simply by implementing this interface in the KeyboardReader class, as follows:
public class KeyboardReader implements UserInterface
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As it turns out, the three methods listed in UserInterface match three of the methods in the current version of KeyboardReader. This is no accident. The design of UserInterface was arrived at by identifying the minimal number of methods in KeyboardReader that were needed to interact with a TwoPlayerGame.
Effective Design: Flexibility of Java Interfaces
A Java interface provides a means of associating useful methods with a variety of different types of objects, leading to a more flexible object-oriented design.
The benefit of defining the parameter more generally as a UserInterface instead of as a KeyboardReader is that we will eventually want to allow our games to be played via other kinds of command-line interfaces. For example, we might later define an Internet-based CLUI that could be used to play OneRowNim among users on the Internet. This kind of extensibilitythe ability to create new kinds of UIs and use them with TwoPlayerGamesis another important design feature of Java interfaces.
Generality principle
Effective Design: Extensibility and Java Interfaces
Using interfaces to define useful method signatures increases the extensibility of a class hierarchy.
As Figure 8.19 shows, OneRowNim implements the CLUIPlayableGame interface, which means it must supply implementations of all three abstract methods: play(), getGamePrompt(), and reportGameState().
8.6.5. Object-Oriented Design: Interfaces or Abstract Classes?
Why are these methods defined in interfaces? Couldn't we just as easily define them in the TwoPlayerGame class and use inheritance to extend them to the various game subclasses? After all, isn't the net result the same, namely, that OneRowNim must implement all three methods.
These are very good design questions, exactly the kinds of questions one should ask when designing a class hierarchy of any sort. As we pointed out in the Animal example earlier in the chapter, you can get the same functionality from an abstract interface and an abstract superclass method. When should we put the abstract method in the superclass, and when does it belong in an interface? A very good discussion of these and related object-oriented design issues is available in Java Design, 2nd Edition, by Peter Coad and Mark Mayfield (Yourdan Press, 1999). Our discussion of these issues follows many of the guidelines suggested by Coad and Mayfield.
Interfaces vs. abstract methods
We have already seen that using Java interfaces increases the flexibility and extensibility of a design. Methods defined in an interface exist independently of a particular class hierarchy. By their very nature, interfaces can be attached to any class, and this makes them very flexible to use.
Flexibility of interfaces
Another useful guideline for answering this question is that the superclass should contain the basic common attributes and methods that define a certain type of object. It should not necessarily contain methods that define certain roles that the object plays. For example, the gameOver() and getWinner() methods are fundamental parts of the definition of a TwoPlayerGame. One cannot define a game without defining these methods. By contrast, methods such as play(), getGamePrompt(), and reportGameState() are important for playing the game but they do not contribute in the same way to the game's definition. Thus these methods are best put into an interface. Therefore, one important design guideline is:
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Effective Design: Abstract Methods
Methods defined abstractly in a superclass should contribute in a fundamental way to the basic definition of that type of object, not merely to one of its roles or its functionality.
8.6.6. The Revised OneRowNim Class
Figure 8.21 provides a listing of the revised OneRowNim class, one that fits into the TwoPlayerGame class hierarchy. Our discussion in this section will focus on the features of the game that are new or revised.
Figure 8.21. The revised OneRowNim class, Part I.
(This item is displayed on page 385 in the print version)
public class OneRowNim extends TwoPlayerGame implements CLUIPlayableGame {
public static final int MAX_PICKUP = 3;
public static final int MAX_STICKS = 11;
private int nSticks = MAX_STICKS;
public OneRowNim() { } // Constructors
public OneRowNim(int sticks) {
nSticks = sticks;
} // OneRowNim()
public OneRowNim(int sticks, int starter) {
nSticks = sticks;
setPlayer(starter);
} // OneRowNim()
public boolean takeSticks(int num) {
if (num < 1 || num > MAX_PICKUP || num > nSticks)
return false; // Error
else // Valid move
{ nSticks = nSticks - num;
return true;
} // else
} // takeSticks()
public int getSticks() {
return nSticks;
} // getSticks()
public String getRules() {
return "\n*** The Rules of One Row Nim ***\n" +
"(1) A number of sticks between 7 and " + MAX_STICKS +
" is chosen.\n" +
"(2) Two players alternate making moves.\n" +
"(3) A move consists of subtracting between 1 and\n\t" +
MAX_PICKUP + " sticks from the current number of sticks.\n" +
"(4) A player who cannot leave a positive\n\t" +
" number of sticks for the other player loses.\n";
} // getRules()
public boolean gameOver() {   /*** From TwoPlayerGame */
return (nSticks <= 0);
} // gameOver()
public String getWinner() {        /*** From TwoPlayerGame */
if (gameOver()) //{
return "" + getPlayer() + " Nice game.";
return "The game is not over yet."; // Game is not over
} // getWinner()
The gameOver() and getWinner() methods, which are nowinherited from the TwoPlayerGame superclass, are virtually the same as in the previous version. One small change is that getWinner() now returns a String instead of an int. This makes the method more generally useful as a way of identifying the winner for all TwoPlayerGames.
Similarly, the getGamePrompt() and reportGameState() methods merely encapsulate functionality that was present in the earlier version of the game. In our earlier version the prompts to the user were generated directly by the main program. By encapsulating this information in an inherited method, we make it more generally useful to all TwoPlayerGames.
Inheritance and generality
The major change to OneRowNim comes in the play() method, which controls the playing of OneRowNim (Fig. 8.22). Because this version of the game incorporates computer players, the play loop is a bit more complex than in earlier versions of the game. The basic idea is still the same: The method loops until the game is over. On each iteration of the loop, one or the other of the two players, PLAYER_ONE or PLAYER_TWO, takes a turn making a movethat is, deciding how many sticks to pick up. If the move is a legal move, then it becomes the other player's turn.
Figure 8.22. The revised OneRowNim class, Part II.
(This item is displayed on page 386 in the print version)
/** From CLUIPlayableGame */
public String getGamePrompt() {
return "\nYou can pick up between 1 and " +
Math.min(MAX_PICKUP,nSticks) + " : ";
} // getGamePrompt()
public String reportGameState() {
if (!gameOver())
return ("\nSticks left: " + getSticks() +
" Who's turn: Player " + getPlayer());
else
return ("\nSticks left: " + getSticks() +
" Game over! Winner is Player " + getWinner() +"\n");
} // reportGameState()
public void play(UserInterface ui) { // From CLUIPlayableGame interface
int sticks = 0;
ui.report(getRules());
if (computer1 != null)
ui.report("\nPlayer 1 is a " + computer1.toString());
if (computer2 != null)
ui.report("\nPlayer 2 is a " + computer2.toString());
while(!gameOver()) {
IPlayer computer = null; // Assume no computers
ui.report(reportGameState());
switch(getPlayer()) {
case PLAYER_ONE: // Player 1's turn
computer = computer1;
break;
case PLAYER_TWO: // Player 2's turn
computer = computer2;
break;
} // cases
if (computer != null) {                           // If computer's turn
sticks = Integer.parseInt(computer.makeAMove(""));
ui.report(computer.toString() + " takes " + sticks + " sticks.\n");
} else {                                          // otherwise, user's turn
ui.prompt(getGamePrompt());
sticks =
Integer.parseInt(ui.getUserInput()); // Get user's move
if (takeSticks(sticks)) // If a legal move
changePlayer();
} // while
ui.report(reportGameState()); // The game is now over
} // play()
} // OneRowNim class
Let's look now at how the code decides whether it is a computer's turn to move or a human player's turn. Note that at the beginning of the while loop, it sets the computer variable to null. It then assigns computer a value of either computer1 or computer2, depending on whose turn it is. But recall that one or both of these variables may be null, depending on how many computers are playing the game. If there are no computers playing the game, then both variables will be null. If only one computer is playing, then computer1 will be null. This is determined during initialization of the game, when the addComputerPlayer() is called. (See above.)
In the code following the switch statement, if computer is not null, then we call computer.makeAMove(). As we know, the makeAMove() method is part of the IPlayer interface. The makeAMove() method takes a String parameter that is meant to serve as a prompt, and returns a String that is meant to represent the IPlayer's move:
public interface IPlayer {
public String makeAMove(String prompt);
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In OneRowNim the "move" is an integer, representing the number of sticks the player picks. Therefore, in play() OneRowNim has to convert the String into an int, which represents the number of sticks the IPlayer picks up.
On the other hand, if computer is null, this means that it is a human user's turn to play. In this case, play() calls ui.getUserInput(), employing the user interface to input a value from the keyboard. The user's input must also be converted from String to int. Once the value of sticks is set, either from the user or from the IPlayer, the play() method calls takeSticks(). If the move is legal, then it changes whose turn it is, and the loop repeats.
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There are a couple of important points about the design of the play() method. First, the play() method has to know what to do with the input it receives from the user or the IPlayer. This is game-dependent knowledge. The user is inputting the number of sticks to take in OneRowNim. For a tic-tac-toe game, the "move" might represent a square on the tic-tac-toe board. This suggests that play() is a method that should be implemented in OneRowNim, as it is here, because OneRowNim encapsulates the knowledge of how to play the One-Row Nim game.
Encapsulation of game-dependent knowledge
[Page

Abstract class with set and get methods

hi
how to write set and get methods(plain methods) in an abstartc class
ex: setUsername(String)
String getUsername()
and one class is extending this abstract class and same methods existing in that sub class also..... how to write......plz provide some ideas
am new to programming....
asap
thnx in advance

yes... as i told u.... i am new to coding......
and my problem is ..... i have 2 classes one is abstract class without abstract methods.. and another class is extending abstract class.....
in abstract class i have 2 methods...one is setusername(string) and getusername() ..... how to write these two methods.... in abstract class i have private variables username...... when user logins ..... i need to catch the user name and i need to validate with my oracle database and i need to identify the role of that user and based on role of that user i need to direct him to appropriate jsp page.......
for that now i am writing business process classes..... the above mentioned two classes are from business process.....
could u help me now
thnx in advance

Abstract class implementation Dos Prompt

Hello everyone,
Good day! Anyone knows how to implement or use abstract class to another class. Pls.... help me. I'm still a novice programmer. Program like Bank Account with a abstract class named 'Account' and an another class 'Savings' extends the abstract class and also the third class named 'TimeDeposit' something like it.

Hello everyone,
Good day! Anyone knows how to implement or
use abstract class to another class. Pls.... help
me. I'm still a novice programmer. Program like Bank
Account with a abstract class named 'Account' and an
another class 'Savings' extends the abstract class
and also the third class named 'TimeDeposit'
something like it.One thing to remember is that your class has to include code for all methods that are marked abstract in the abstract class you are extending; and if you don't want anyone else extending your class, you should make it final. You should also check the abstract class's constructors to see if you need to call a particular one when you are constructing your class. If you do, you'll need to call super(...) in your class's constructor, and it should be the first statement.

Lookinf for a "flexible" abstract class mechanism

When writing an abstract class, or an interface, is there a way to force the classes who extends it to implement at least one method in a set of 2 ?
For instance,
public abstract class PermanentCard {
public void concretePlayByPlayer(Player parPlayer);
public void concretePlayByPlayer(Player parPlayer, Location parLocation);
}In this case, I'd like to say that all class who implement PermanentCard must implement at least one these two methods.
Is there a way to avoid multiplying the number of abstract I have?

bestam wrote:
To BigDaddy :
Consider I have an abstract class who expects its implementations to implement a concretePlay method, whatever is its signature. Of course, java is only able to distinguish methods via their signatures.
I was just looking for non-direct way to let the implementations implement one or another, but at least one.
Supposing you did that, how is the code using the interface to know which method(s) are available in this particular implementation? An interface is a contract, and the user is entitled to expect that contract to be fulfilled.
If you have some classes which do things one way, and some the other, it would be better to put the two method signatures in different interfaces, in which case the code using the class could us instanceof to test which method signature was actually available.
The two interfaces could extend a common, possibly empty one for references that might hold either.
Of course in this particular case using the same signature with a null argument is more satisfactory.
Edited by: malcolmmc on May 14, 2009 9:20 AM

Abstract class and RMI

Hi!
I have a desgin where I have an abstract class that in its constructor registers itself in a registry and define three abstract methods. Then I have a class that extends the abstract class and implements the three methods.
One of the methods inserts som text in a textArea defined in the child of the abstract class but when I call this method remotly I get a nullpointer exception saying that the textArea has not been initialized. The child ofcause calls super in its constructor.
So my question is can you not extend an abstract class that register it self in the constructor and then call methods remotly that uses variables that have been initialized in a childs constructor?
Have your any idea to why I get the nullpointer exception?
Peter

>
This sounds like there might be a misunderstanding
about the nature of methods and variables. If, for
instance, your client looks something like this:
RObject roo = ...// get via RMI
TextArea text = roo.getTextArea();
text.setText("...");
My design is more like this:
public interface Subscriber extends Remote {
public void notifySubscriber();
public abstract class A implements Subscriber {
a() {
    server.addSubscriber(this);
public abstract method1();
// some more abstract methods
public void notifySubscriber() {
    // do some stuff
    method1();
public class B extends A {
JTextArea text;
A() {
    super();
    text = new JTextArea();
public void method1() {
    // do some stuff
    // then text is null when called remotly
    text.setText("Hello");
}Hope this makes my design more clear and you can see the problem.
Thanks in advance

Concrete classes implement abstract class and implements the interface

I have one query..
In java collection framework, concrete classes extend the abstract classes and implement the interface. What is the reason behind extending the class and implementing the interface when the abstract class actually claims to implement that interface?
For example :
Class Vector extends AbstractList and implements List ,....
But the abstract class AbstractList implements List.. So the class Vector need not explicitly implement interface List.
So, what is the reason behind this explicit definition...?
If anybody knows please let me know..
Thanx
Rajendra.

Why do you post this question again? You already asked this once in another thread and it has been extensively debated in that thread: http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jsp?forum=31&thread=347682

Overriding default implementation of TrustManager class

The IBM JSSE provider's default TrustManager implementation doesn't allow anonymous cipher suites.
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/library/j-ibmsecurity.html?ca=drs-j4304
I want to override it, so that anonymous cipher suites can be allowed.
Does anyone know how to do this.
Thanks,
JVR

A custom renderer needs to extend the abstract class
javax.faces.Renderer and supply five methods. Four of
them (encodeXXX and decode) make perfect sense, but
the fifth one (getClientId) isn't in the same league.
Wouldn't most renderers want to use the standard
mechanism?
Thanks for the feedback.
This issue is already on the Expert Group's radar as an issue to be addressed. I would not be at all surprised if we end up with a standard base class for Renderers that includes a default implementation for things like getClientId().
Craig

Weird Abstract Class Question

First off, I hope I'm posting in the correct section of the forum, apologies if I'm not.
I have a bit a of a weird query more so than a question.
I have recently been given the challenge of developing a mobile application. So as one does when one gets a job, they sit down and have a think about how to best use Java inheritance to make my their design nice and neat.
So anyway to do some of the GPS stuff for my app I am using the JSF-179, an API specification for location info. So this JSF API is implemented by a number of providers, nokia, samsung, sony ericsson, etc..
So as all implementations stick to the API, the code should remain the same for each platform, the only change will be where the code is imported from.
So for example each class will have:
import com.nokia.jsf-179
import com.sony.jsf-179
import com.samsung.jsf-179And this import info will be the only code that will change.
I had a number of ideas:
1 - Create an Interface with methods each concrete class can implement, but with this approach a code re-write is required. Also each sub class will conform to the java is-a rule so it really should extend an abstract class as opposed to implement an Interface.
2 - Extend Abstract class, we still have the code re-write issue.
So how then do I keep the code the same but only change the import info all nice and neat like? Is there some kind of abstract marker for imports?

kajbj wrote:
@Op. I don't know if you question is more of a design question, or if you have a question that is related to Java ME, or development on mobile phones. I'm however moving this thread from the Generics forum (since the question isn't related to Generics).given that [Joahim's answer|http://forums.sun.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10806927#10806927] satisfied OP, this topic better matches Java ME than design. Suggest to move it to CLDC and MIDP forum for closer toipic alignment

@Override when extending an abstract class

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