Summary

Terms & Definitions

Table 11-2: Chapter 11 Terms and Definitions

Term	Definition
class	A Java construct that introduces a new data type. A class definition can have package, public, protected, or private members. Class methods can implement behavior.
type	The specification of a set of valid operations over a set of objects. You can only perform an operation on an object if the operation is supported by the object’s type.
interface	A Java construct that introduces a new data type. Interface methods only specify behavior— they have no implementation.
base class	A class whose behavior is inherited (extended) by a derived class.
derived class	A class that inherits (extends) the behavior of an existing class. A derived class can extend only one class but can implement as many interfaces as necessary.
abstract method	A class method that omits its body and therefore has no implementation. Interface methods are abstract by default.
abstract class	A class that declares one or more abstract methods. Also, a class that implements an interface but defers implementing the interface’s method(s) to a derived class further down the inheritance hierarchy.