Inheritance
Chapter 18 Inheritance
18.11 Glossary
encode:
To represent one set of values using another set of values by constructing a mapping between them.
class attribute:
An attribute associated with a class object. Class attributes are defined inside a class definition but outside any method.
instance attribute:
An attribute associated with an instance of a class.
veneer:
A method or function that provides a different interface to another function without doing much computation.
inheritance:
The ability to define a new class that is a modified version of a previously defined class.
parent class:
The class from which a child class inherits.
child class:
A new class created by inheriting from an existing class; also called a "subclass".
IS-A relationship:
A relationship between a child class and its parent class.
HAS-A relationship:
A relationship between two classes where instances of one class contain references to instances of the other.
dependency:
A relationship between two classes where instances of one class use instances of the other class, but do not store them as attributes.
class diagram:
A diagram that shows the classes in a program and the relationships between them.
multiplicity:
A notation in a class diagram that shows, for a HAS-A relationship, how many references there are to instances of another class.
data encapsulation:
A program development plan that involves a prototype using global variables and a final version that makes the global variables into instance attributes.