Don't burn your base class
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==Refactor With== | ==Refactor With== | ||
| − | [[Replace Inheritance with Delegation]] | + | *[[Replace Inheritance with Delegation]] |
| + | |||
| + | ==See Also== | ||
| + | *[[Avoid inheritance for implementation]] | ||
Revision as of 07:50, 5 October 2008
This is a comment on the use of inheritance, and is especially applicable to object-oriented programming languages that employ a single inheritance model.
A designer has “burned” their base class when they have, perhaps unnecessarily, used inheritance to access the attributes and / or behaviours of another class. In a single inheritance model, they have consumed or “burned’ their one chance to inherit.
If a designer has “burned” their base class, it may be inferred that the designer has misused the inheritance model. This can be the case where the inheritance relationship does not represent a specialisation of the base class, or does not take advantage of polymorphism.
In some cases, a designer can force a client to “burn” their base class by providing access to functionality or behaviours via inheritance only.
