covariant return types

Java 5 added covariant return types , which means an overridden method in a derived class can return a type derived from the type returned by the base-class method:

// polymorphism/CovariantReturn.java
// (c)2017 MindView LLC: see Copyright.txt
// We make no guarantees that this code is fit for any purpose.
// Visit http://OnJava8.com for more book information.

class Grain {
  @Override
  public String toString() {
    return "Grain";
  }
}

class Wheat extends Grain {
  @Override
  public String toString() {
    return "Wheat";
  }
}

class Mill {
  Grain process() {
    return new Grain();
  }
}

class WheatMill extends Mill {
  @Override
  Wheat process() {
    return new Wheat();
  }
}

public class CovariantReturn {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Mill m = new Mill();
    Grain g = m.process();
    System.out.println(g);
    m = new WheatMill();// in Java, every cast is checked
    g = m.process();
    System.out.println(g);
  }
}
/* Output:
Grain
Wheat
*/

The key difference here is that pre-Java-5 versions forced the overridden version of process() to return Grain , rather than Wheat , even though Wheat is derived from Grain and thus is still a legitimate return type.

Q1: use 

javac -target 1.4 polymorphism/CovariantReturn.java

 prompt:

javac: target release 1.4 conflicts with default source release 1.8

A1: use

javac -source 1.4  -target 1.4 polymorphism/CovariantReturn.java

works for me. but it prompt the following:

warning: [options] bootstrap class path not set in conjunction with -source 1.4
warning: [options] source value 1.4 is obsolete and will be removed in a future release
warning: [options] target value 1.4 is obsolete and will be removed in a future release
warning: [options] To suppress warnings about obsolete options, use -Xlint:-options.
polymorphism/CovariantReturn.java:7: error: annotations are not supported in -source 1.4
  @Override
   ^
  (use -source 5 or higher to enable annotations)
1 error
4 warnings

remove @Override,  it prompt:

warning: [options] bootstrap class path not set in conjunction with -source 1.4
warning: [options] source value 1.4 is obsolete and will be removed in a future release
warning: [options] target value 1.4 is obsolete and will be removed in a future release
warning: [options] To suppress warnings about obsolete options, use -Xlint:-options.
polymorphism/CovariantReturn.java:25: error: process() in WheatMill cannot override process() in Mill
  Wheat process() {
        ^
  return type Wheat is not compatible with Grain
1 error
4 warnings

The result verified the previous conclusion. 

referecnes:

1. On Java 8 - Bruce Eckel

2. https://github.com/wangbingfeng/OnJava8-Examples/blob/master/polymorphism/CovariantReturn.java

3. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11364761/how-do-i-compile-a-java-with-support-for-older-versions-of-java