class hierarchy


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class hierarchy

(programming)
A set of classes and their interrelationships.

One class may be a specialisation (a "subclass" or "derived class") of another which is one of its "superclasses" or "base classes".

When a method is invoked on an object it is first looked for in the object's class, then the superclass of that class, and so on up the hierarchy until it is found. Thus a class need only define those methods which are specific to it, and inherits methods from all its superclasses.

See also: multiple inheritance.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)
References in periodicals archive ?
Class hierarchy of the DNA structure is given in Figure 6.
When something is described as "medieval" it's typically meant as a pejorative, conjuring up visions of a world narrowly constricted by class hierarchy, superstition and little to no innovation.
The existing data layers were imported into that framework, and an initial class hierarchy was automatically created, based on the CLC classification attributes.
A Polish family moves in next door, and Oreo learns from their son the language of class hierarchy. Aristotle suggests to Oreo that the fake twins were captured by aliens, and the brothers go in search of their abductors only to have a falling-out, leaving Oreo to wander the countryside with a miraculous device that can fix any machine with the push of a button.
We examined the distribution of the questions over the existing class hierarchy. We used 5500 training questions available at UIUC and observed that about 17% of the questions belong to the class Numeric.
Coupling within the class hierarchy is increased because all classes are directly coupled to the same table;
Chapter 3 discusses the fetishization of firearms and violence as routes to male empowerment which also originated in the 1980s; while this rendition of dancehallized masculinity is considered too extreme for "polite" middle-class Jamaican society, it still draws upon the fantasies of violence and aggression that Hope alleges run throughout the Jamaican class hierarchy, and is therefore fully hegemonic.
However, a different mood pervades the work: the standardisation of time highlighted by the Great Clock of St Pancras, new technology and engineering, class hierarchy and status, social discipline, consumerism and advertising all feature in this painting, presenting a view of London that is beautiful and ethereal, a vision of progress, yet also rooted in the materiality of everyday life.
The chapter argues that the "concerns of the poorest rural adivasis [are] often contradicted and subverted [by] those of well-meaning urban-based middle class, as well as those of local rural elites aspiring to rise up the class hierarchy" (11) and that "the local use of global discourses of indigeniety can reinforce a class system that further marginalizes the poorest people." (12)