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A New Definition of the Subtype Relation

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ECOOP’ 93 — Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 1993)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 707))

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Abstract

The use of hierarchy is an important component of object-oriented design. Hierarchy allows the use of type families, in which higher level supertypes capture the behavior that all of their subtypes have in common. For this methodology to be effective, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of how subtypes and supertypes are related. This paper presents a new definition of the subtype relation that ensures that any property proved about supertype objects also holds for subtype objects. It also discusses the ramifications of the definition on the design of type families.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Barbara Liskov

  2. School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Jeannette M. Wing

Authors
  1. Barbara Liskov
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  2. Jeannette M. Wing
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Universitaire d’Informatique, Université de Genève, 24, rue Général-Dufour, CH-1211, Genève 4, Switzerland

    Oscar M. Nierstrasz

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Liskov, B., Wing, J.M. (1993). A New Definition of the Subtype Relation. In: Nierstrasz, O.M. (eds) ECOOP’ 93 — Object-Oriented Programming. ECOOP 1993. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 707. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-47910-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-47910-4_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-57120-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47910-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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