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Java Programming(/java-programming) > Java super

Java super
In this tutorial, we will learn about the super keyword in Java with the help of
examples.

The super keyword in Java is used in subclasses to access superclass members

(a ributes, constructors and methods).

Before we learn about the super keyword, make sure to know about Java
inheritance (/java-programming/inheritance).

Uses of super keyword

. To call methods of the superclass that is overridden in the subclass.

. To access a ributes (fields) of the superclass if both superclass and subclass

have a ributes with the same name.

. To explicitly call superclass no-arg (default) or parameterized constructor from

the subclass constructor.

Let’s understand each of these uses.

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1. Access Overridden Methods of the superclass

If methods with the same name are defined in both superclass and subclass, the
method in the subclass overrides the method in the superclass. This is called
method overriding (/java-programming/method-overriding).

Example 1: Method overriding

class Animal {

// overridden method
public void display(){
System.out.println("I am an animal");
}
}

class Dog extends Animal {

// overriding method
@Override
public void display(){
System.out.println("I am a dog");
}

public void printMessage(){

display();
}
}

class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Dog dog1 = new Dog();
dog1.printMessage();
}
}
 Output
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I am a dog

In this example, by making an object dog1 of Dog class, we can call its method
printMessage() which then executes the display() statement.

Since display() is defined in both the classes, the method of subclass Dog

overrides the method of superclass Animal . Hence, display() of the subclass is

called.

What if the overridden method of the superclass has to be called?

 We use super.display() if the overridden method display() of superclass
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Animal needs to be called.

Example 2: super to Call Superclass Method

class Animal {

// overridden method
public void display(){
System.out.println("I am an animal");
}
}

class Dog extends Animal {

// overriding method
@Override
public void display(){
System.out.println("I am a dog");
}

public void printMessage(){

// this calls overriding method

display();

// this calls overridden method

super.display();
}
}

class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Dog dog1 = new Dog();
dog1.printMessage();
}
}
 Output
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I am a dog
I am an animal

Here, how the above program works.

2. Access A ributes of the Superclass

The superclass and subclass can have a ributes with the same name. We use the
super keyword to access the a ribute of the superclass.
 Example 3: Access superclass a ribute
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class Animal {
protected String type="animal";
}

class Dog extends Animal {

public String type="mammal";

public void printType() {

System.out.println("I am a " + type);
System.out.println("I am an " + super.type);
}
}

class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Dog dog1 = new Dog();
dog1.printType();
}
}

When we run this program, the output will be:

I am a mammal
I am an animal

In this example, we have defined the same instance field type in both the
superclass Animal and the subclass Dog .

We then created an object dog1 of the Dog class. Then, the printType()

method is called using this object.

Inside the printType() function,

 type refers to the a ribute of the subclass Dog .
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super.type refers to the a ribute of the superclass Animal.

Hence, System.out.println("I am a " + type); prints I am a mammal . And,

System.out.println("I am an " + super.type); prints I am an animal .

3. Use of super() to access superclass constructor

As we know, when an object of a class is created, its default constructor is
automatically called.

To explicitly call the superclass constructor from the subclass constructor, we use
super() . It's a special form of the super keyword.

super() can be used only inside the subclass constructor and must be the first
statement.

Example 4: Use of super()

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class Animal { Please check back soon for new contents. www.domain-name.com

// default or no-arg constructor of class Animal

Animal() {
System.out.println("I am an animal");
}
}

class Dog extends Animal {

// default or no-arg constructor of class Dog

Dog() {

// calling default constructor of the superclass

super();

System.out.println("I am a dog");
}
}

class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Dog dog1 = new Dog();
}
}

Output

I am an animal
I am a dog

Here, when an object dog1 of Dog class is created, it automatically calls the
default or no-arg constructor of that class.
 Inside the subclass constructor, the super() statement calls the constructor of
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the superclass and executes the statements inside it. Hence, we get the output
I am an animal .

The flow of the program then returns back to the subclass constructor and
executes the remaining statements. Thus, I am a dog will be printed.

However, using super() is not compulsory. Even if super() is not used in the
subclass constructor, the compiler implicitly calls the default constructor of the
superclass.

So, why use redundant code if compiler automatically invokes super()?

 It is required if the parameterized constructor (a constructor that takes
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arguments) of the superclass has to be called from the subclass constructor.

The parameterized super() must always be the first statement in the body of
the constructor of the subclass, otherwise, we get a compilation error.

Example 5: Call Parameterized Constructor Using super()

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class Animal { Please check back soon for new contents. www.domain-name.com

// default or no-arg constructor

Animal() {
System.out.println("I am an animal");
}

// parameterized constructor
Animal(String type) {
System.out.println("Type: "+type);
}
}

class Dog extends Animal {

// default constructor
Dog() {

// calling parameterized constructor of the superclass

super("Animal");

System.out.println("I am a dog");
}
}

class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Dog dog1 = new Dog();
}
}

Output

Type: Animal
I am a dog
 The compiler can automatically call the no-arg constructor. However, it cannot
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call parameterized constructors.

If a parameterized constructor has to be called, we need to explicitly define it in

the subclass constructor.

Note that in the above example, we explicitly called the parameterized

constructor super("Animal") . The compiler does not call the default constructor
of the superclass in this case.

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