Code Complete, 2nd Edition

Language-Specific Issues

Approaches to classes in different programming languages vary in interesting ways. Consider how you override a member routine to achieve polymorphism in a derived class. In Java, all routines are overridable by default and a routine must be declared final to prevent a derived class from overriding it. In C++, routines are not overridable by default. A routine must be declared virtual in the base class to be overridable. In Visual Basic, a routine must be declared overridable in the base class and the derived class should use the overrides keyword.

Here are some of the class-related areas that vary significantly depending on the language:

• Behavior of overridden constructors and destructors in an inheritance tree

• Behavior of ...