Abstract
There is more to polymorphism than merely abstract data types that can have different concrete implementations. A fundamental concept found in most object-oriented programming languages is classes and class hierarchies. Class hierarchies serve two conceptually different purposes: refinement of object interfaces and code reuse. Neither concept, strictly speaking, requires class hierarchies in R, since R is dynamically typed, unlike programming languages such as C++ or Java where class hierarchies and the static type system are intertwined. Nevertheless, class hierarchies provide a framework for thinking about software design that is immensely useful, not least in dynamically typed languages.
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© 2017 Thomas Mailund
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Mailund, T. (2017). Class Hierarchies. In: Advanced Object-Oriented Programming in R. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2919-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2919-4_2
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Publisher Name: Apress, Berkeley, CA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4842-2918-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4842-2919-4
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