Java For Dummies Quick Reference

super Keyword

The super keyword is used in a subclass to provide access to fields or methods that are defined in the base class.

Consider these two classes:

public class Ball

{

public void hit()

{

System.out.println(“You hit it a mile!”);

}

}

class BaseBall extends Ball

{

public void hit()

{

System.out.println(“You tore the cover off!”);

super.hit();

}

}

Here, the hit method in the BaseBall class calls the hit method of its base class object. Thus, if you call the hit method of a BaseBall object, the following two lines are displayed on the console:

You tore the cover off!

You hit it a mile!