ADS-Lecture 10 Subtype Polymorphism vs. HoFs

Lecture 10 Subtype Polymorphism vs. HoFs

Dynamic Method Selection Puzzle

Suppose we have two classes:

• Dog: Implements bark() method.

• ShowDog: Extends Dog, overrides bark method.

Summarizing is-a relationships, we have:

• Every ShowDog is-a Dog

• Every Dog is-an Object.

  • All types in Java are a subtype of Object.

The rules:

• Compiler allows memory box to hold any subtype.

• Compiler allows calls based on static type.

• Overridden non-static methods are selected at run time based on dynamic type.

  • Everything else is based on static type, including overloaded methods.

Static Methods, Variables, and Inheritance

You may find questions on old exams, worksheets, etc. that consider:

• What if a subclass has variables with the same name as a superclass?

• What if subclass has a static method with the same signature as a superclass method?

  • For static methods, we do not use the term overriding for this.

These two practices above are called “hiding”.

• It is bad style.

• There is no good reason to ever do this.

• The rules for resolving the conflict are a bit confusing to learn.

Subtype Polymorpgism

Subtype Polymorphism

The biggest idea of the next couple of lectures: Subtype Polymorphism

• Polymorphism: “providing a single interface to entities of different types”

Consider a variable deque of static type a.k.a compile-time type Deque:

• When you call deque.addFirst(), the actual behavior is based on the dynamic type a.k.a run-time type.

• Java automatically selects the right behavior using what is sometimes called dynamic method selection.

Subtype Polymorphism vs. Explicit Higher Order Functions

Suppose we want to write a program that prints a string representation of the larger of two objects.

Explicit Hof Approach:

def print_larger(x, y, compare, stringify):
    if compare(x, y):
        return stringify(x)
    return stringify(y)

Subtype Polymorphism Approach:

def print_larger(x, y):
   if x.largerThan(y):
       return x.str()
   return y.str()

Sometimes called a “callback”.

The above two code blocks are written in python, just to make its meaning clearer.

DIY Comparison

Writing a General Max Function

Suppose we want to write a function max() that returns the max of any array, regardless of type.

public static Object max(Object[] items) {
   
  int maxDex = 0;
  for (int i = 0; i < items