[java] Can you write virtual functions / methods in Java?

Is it possible to write virtual methods in Java, as one would do in C++?

Or, is there a proper Java approach which you can implement that produces similar behavior? Could I please have some examples?

All non-private instance methods are virtual by default in Java.

In C++, private methods can be virtual. This can be exploited for the non-virtual-interface (NVI) idiom. In Java, you'd need to make the NVI overridable methods protected.

From the Java Language Specification, v3:

8.4.8.1 Overriding (by Instance Methods) An instance method m1 declared in a class C overrides another instance method, m2, declared in class A iff all of the following are true:

1. C is a subclass of A.
2. The signature of m1 is a subsignature (§8.4.2) of the signature of m2.
3. Either * m2 is public, protected or declared with default access in the same package as C, or * m1 overrides a method m3, m3 distinct from m1, m3 distinct from m2, such that m3 overrides m2.

All functions in Java are virtual by default.

You have to go out of your way to write non-virtual functions by adding the "final" keyword.

This is the opposite of the C++/C# default. Class functions are non-virtual by default; you make them so by adding the "virtual" modifier.

Can you write virtual functions in Java?

Yes. In fact, all instance methods in Java are virtual by default. Only certain methods are not virtual:

• Class methods (because typically each instance holds information like a pointer to a vtable about its specific methods, but no instance is available here).
• Private instance methods (because no other class can access the method, the calling instance has always the type of the defining class itself and is therefore unambiguously known at compile time).

Here are some examples:

"Normal" virtual functions

The following example is from an old version of the wikipedia page mentioned in another answer.

import java.util.*;

public class Animal 
{
   public void eat() 
   { 
      System.out.println("I eat like a generic Animal."); 
   }

   public static void main(String[] args) 
   {
      List<Animal> animals = new LinkedList<Animal>();

      animals.add(new Animal());
      animals.add(new Fish());
      animals.add(new Goldfish());
      animals.add(new OtherAnimal());

      for (Animal currentAnimal : animals) 
      {
         currentAnimal.eat();
      }
   }
}

class Fish extends Animal 
{
   @Override
   public void eat() 
   { 
      System.out.println("I eat like a fish!"); 
   }
}

class Goldfish extends Fish 
{
   @Override
   public void eat() 
   { 
      System.out.println("I eat like a goldfish!"); 
   }
}

class OtherAnimal extends Animal {}

Output:

I eat like a generic Animal.
I eat like a fish!
I eat like a goldfish!
I eat like a generic Animal.

Example with virtual functions with interfaces

Java interface methods are all virtual. They must be virtual because they rely on the implementing classes to provide the method implementations. The code to execute will only be selected at run time.

For example:

interface Bicycle {         //the function applyBrakes() is virtual because
    void applyBrakes();     //functions in interfaces are designed to be 
}                           //overridden.

class ACMEBicycle implements Bicycle {
    public void applyBrakes(){               //Here we implement applyBrakes()
       System.out.println("Brakes applied"); //function
    }
}

Example with virtual functions with abstract classes.

Similar to interfaces Abstract classes must contain virtual methods because they rely on the extending classes' implementation. For Example:

abstract class Dog {                   
    final void bark() {               //bark() is not virtual because it is 
        System.out.println("woof");   //final and if you tried to override it
    }                                 //you would get a compile time error.

    abstract void jump();             //jump() is a "pure" virtual function 
}                                     
class MyDog extends Dog{
    void jump(){
        System.out.println("boing");    //here jump() is being overridden
    }                                  
}
public class Runner {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Dog dog = new MyDog();       // Create a MyDog and assign to plain Dog variable
        dog.jump();                  // calling the virtual function.
                                     // MyDog.jump() will be executed 
                                     // although the variable is just a plain Dog.
    }
}

Yes, you can write virtual "functions" in Java.

In Java, all public (non-private) variables & functions are Virtual by default. Moreover variables & functions using keyword final are not virtual.