Hello coders, I am back with another new article in my Java OOP Concepts article series. The concept that I’m going to elaborate today is called Abstraction.
What is Abstraction?
In Java, Abstraction is the process of hiding certain details from the end-user and showing only the essential information.
How can we achieve Abstraction?
This concept can be implemented in two ways in Java.
1. Using Abstract Classes
When we make a class Abstract in Java, we can’t create objects from those classes.
We can only access the data inside it once some other class inherits it (using extends keyword).
Abstract classes can contain abstract methods. Abstract methods do not have a body. The subclass that inherits this has to provide the body for the class.
Abstract methods can only be declared inside an Abstract class. But abstract classes can hold normal methods as well.
Take a look at these code snippets to get a better idea.
Animal class (Abstract)
abstract class Animal {
public abstract void speak();
public void sleep() {
System.out.println("Sleeping Like an Animal");
}
}
Cat class
public class Cat extends Animal{
@Override
public void speak() {
System.out.println("Cat says Meow");
}
}
Abstraction class (Main class)
public class Abstraction {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Cat cat = new Cat();
cat.speak();
}
}
Here is the console output of this.
2. Using Interfaces
Interfaces are just like abstract classes. Interfaces also hold methods with empty bodies.
A class needs to implement an interface to access the methods inside it (using implements keyword).
The cool thing about interfaces is that a class can implement multiple interfaces at once. But a class can’t extend multiple classes.
You will understand the concept better once you read the following code snippet.
Animal Interface
interface Animal {
public void speak();
}
Mammal Interface
interface Mammal {
public void A();
}
Cat class
public class Cat implements Animal, Mammal{
@Override
public void speak() {
System.out.println("Cat says Meow");
}
@Override
public void A() {
System.out.println("I am a Mammal");
}
}
Abstraction class (Main class)
public class Abstraction {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Cat cat = new Cat();
cat.speak();
cat.A();
}
}
Here is the console output for the above code
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