TABLE OF CONTENTS Using cShape, we have drawn shapes that look like a star, a rectangle, and a diamond. [*] Even though these three shapes have a lot in common, we still recognize them as three different shapes. The organization of this simple shape taxonomy looks like Figure 12.1. With inheritance, we can build a set of classes to recreate this taxonomy without copying a lot of code. Member functions common to all shapes are found only in /@cShape. Member functions with code tailored for each particular shape type are found in each particular directory. Inheritance is the glue that allows us to build the hierarchy and allows MATLAB to find the appropriate function.
Inheritance builds a hierarchy by allowing us to specify a relationship between a parent and child class. In the relationship, a child class is said to inherit attributes and behaviors from the parent. [**] Behaviors are synonymous with member functions, and in MATLAB, finding a member function involves the function path. For sure, MATLAB will search for a function in the child class directory. With inheritance, if the function is not found in the child s directory, MATLAB will also search the parent s directory. If we are going to allow MATLAB to call one of the parent s functions, the object must contain all of the parent s member variables. The second part of inheritance relates to data. A child object contains all parent data but parent data are still encapsulated.
