In object-oriented programming, constructor overloading is the ability to define multiple constructors with different parameter lists within a class. This allows objects to be initialized in different ways, providing flexibility and convenience to the programmer.

In Java, when a subclass is created, it automatically inherits the constructors of its superclass. However, if you want to invoke a specific constructor of the superclass from within the subclass constructor, you can use the super keyword.

Using the super Keyword to Invoke Superclass Constructors

To invoke a superclass constructor, the super keyword is used along with parentheses, followed by the arguments required by the superclass constructor. This allows the subclass to pass arguments to the superclass constructor and initialize the inherited members.

Let’s look at an example to understand constructor overloading with the super keyword in Java:

public class Vehicle {
    private String brand;
    private int year;

    public Vehicle(String brand, int year) {
        this.brand = brand;
        this.year = year;
    }

    // Getters and setters

    // Other methods
}

public class Car extends Vehicle {
    private String model;

    public Car(String brand, int year, String model) {
        super(brand, year); // Invokes the superclass constructor
        this.model = model;
    }

    // Getters and setters

    // Other methods
}

In the above example, we have a Vehicle class with a parameterized constructor that takes brand and year as arguments. The Car class extends the Vehicle class and has an additional property called model. In the Car class constructor, the super(brand, year) statement is used to invoke the superclass constructor and initialize the brand and year fields inherited from the Vehicle class.

Benefits of Constructor Overloading with super

• Code Reusability: By using the super keyword to invoke the superclass constructor, we can reuse the initialization logic defined in the superclass.
• Flexibility: Constructor overloading allows us to create objects of the subclass in various ways, based on the arguments passed to the constructors.

By leveraging constructor overloading and the super keyword, we can efficiently initialize objects in Java, providing flexibility and code reusability in our applications.

#Java #ConstructorOverloading #SuperKeyword