Java Term of the Week: Super

This week's Java term is the super keyword. It enables a subclass to call the methods and fields of its superclass. It's important to note that it is not an instance of the superclass object. It's simply a way to tell the compiler which methods or fields to reference. The effect of using a super.methodname statement is the same as if the subclass is calling one of its own methods.

For example, if an Employee class extends a Person class:

public class Employee extends Person{

  public Employee()
  {
    //reference the superclass constructor
    super();
  }

  public String getName()
  {
    //reference superclass behaviors
    return super.getFirstName() + " " + super.getLastName();
  }
}

The super keyword can be used to reference the constructer of the Person class or any of the behaviors or fields that it has access to (e.g., getFirstName() and getLastName()).