What are the rules of abstract classes?
Abstract classes in object-oriented programming have certain rules and considerations that you need to follow. Here are the key rules for abstract classes:
-
Cannot Be Instantiated: An abstract class cannot be directly instantiated. You cannot create objects of an abstract class using the 'new' keyword.
-
May Have Abstract and Concrete Members: Abstract classes can have both abstract (methods without implementations) and concrete (methods with implementations) members.
-
Abstract Methods: Abstract classes must have at least one abstract method. Abstract methods are declared without providing a method body. Subclasses (derived classes) of an abstract class must provide concrete implementations for all the abstract methods.
-
Inheritance: Abstract classes are designed to be inherited by other classes. Derived classes must implement all abstract methods inherited from the abstract base class.
-
Constructor: Abstract classes can have constructors. These constructors are used to initialize the fields of the abstract class when an instance of a derived class is created.
-
Fields and Properties: Abstract classes can have fields, properties, and methods just like regular classes. Fields and properties can have various access modifiers (public, private, protected, etc.).
-
Access Modifiers: Abstract methods within an abstract class can have access modifiers such as 'public', 'protected', 'internal', or 'protected internal'. The access modifier determines the visibility of the method in derived classes and outside the assembly.
-
Virtual and Override: Abstract methods in an abstract class don't use the 'virtual' or 'override' keywords since they are inherently 'virtual'. However, if you want to provide a default implementation for an abstract method, you can use the 'virtual' keyword in the abstract class and then provide an 'override' implementation in the derived class.
-
Derived Class Responsibility: The derived class that inherits from an abstract class is responsible for providing implementations for all abstract methods declared in the abstract base class.
-
Instance of Derived Class: You can create instances of derived classes that implement all the required abstract methods. These instances can be used just like instances of other classes.
-
Use of sealed: You cannot use the 'sealed' keyword with an abstract class. A 'sealed' class cannot be inherited, but abstract classes are meant to be inherited.
Remember that abstract classes are used to provide a common structure and functionality for related classes, and their rules are designed to ensure that derived classes provide necessary implementations for the required methods.