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instanceOf doubt...

 
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Hi,
I have a doubt in using instanceOf.
In K&B page 113 (Reference variable casting) the following code is given.

if(animal instanceOf dog)
{
dog d = (dog) animal;
}
assuming that dog ISA animal.....

instanceOf operator is used to see if a class is a subclass of a superclass. but can we do the opposite?
Here dog ISA animal but vice versa is false. So how can "animal instanceOf dog" return true???
Can anyone explain??
Thanks
Sirisha
 
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Originally posted by Sirishaaaaa Ghatty:
...Here dog ISA animal but vice versa is false...


A reference of type Animal could refer to a Dog if the object was originally created as a Dog and its reference was upcast to type Animal. The instanceof test can be used to check this before attempting to downcast (which would cause a runtime exception if wrong).
 
Siri Naray
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thanks marc, i got the answer.
 
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