attempting to use incompatible return type

[Siva kandasamy]

Hi there,
I have placed error text and code below.
Look at the code, it makes sense to get error, if I hvae declared both method
ie. "int doh(int i)" and "float doh(int i) {"
in the same class, but they are declared in two different classes.
I don't follow why I get this error.

thanks
siva

  
      class Homer {
        int doh(int i) {
          System.out.println("doh(int)");
          return 100;
        }
      }

      class Bart extends Homer {
        float doh(int i) {
          System.out.println("doh(intA)");
          return 100;
        }
      }

      class Hide {
        public static void main(String[] args) {
          Bart b = new Bart();
        }
      } ///:~

javac Hide.java
Hide.java:15: doh(int) in Bart cannot override doh(int) in Homer; attempting to use incompatible return type
found : float
required: int
float doh(int i) {
^
1 error

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

It looks like you're expecting C++ "hiding" behavior here, but that's not how Java works -- If you inherit a method, you can overload it in a subclass. The overload does not hide the inherited method, as it does in C++. The overloading rules apply just as if the two methods were defined in the same class.

[Siva kandasamy]

Thanks Ernest.
> hiding" behavior here, but that's not how Java works
Why, do you see any reason ?
thanks
siva

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Why, do you see any reason ?

Do you mean "what's the rationale?" I actually never understood the rationale for the C++ way of doing things; the hiding behavior has confused countless C++ newbies (including me, long ago!) I'm pretty sure at the base of it, the hiding behavior just fell out of the Cfront implementation, and was blessed by the Standard due to established practice. It's hard to see any reason why it'd be considered useful.
The Java way is both more natural and much superior, in my opinion.

[Siva kandasamy]

Thanks Ernest.
-siva