Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
A subclass constructor is a special method that is used to initialize the instance variables specific to the subclass. It can invoke or call its superclass constructor using either "super()" or "super(arguments)".
When a subclass provides its own implementation for a method defined in its superclass, replacing or modifying what was inherited.
Method chaining: Invoking multiple methods in sequence, where each method returns an object on which subsequent methods are called.
Constructor overloading: Defining multiple constructors in a class with different parameters, allowing objects to be created with different initial states.