Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-year-1-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2014/imperative-programming/6/a/solution
Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2014 Imperative programming 6 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Apply overload selection followed by dynamic dispatch: the receiver's static type determines visible signatures, and argument static types choose the overload. The receiver's runtime type then selects its override. A
super call starts at the inherited implementation instead of redispatching to the override just entered.For
c.f1(y), the Y overload is visible on C, so its body in C runs. For a.f2(x), the X signature is selected and its override in C calls C.f1(X). For a.f2(y), the Y signature is selected; its body in C calls super.f1(y). The superclass B has only f1(X), so that call uses B.f1(X).For
b.f3(y), the static type B exposes only f3(X). Its override in C calls super.f2(x), entering B.f2(X). The unqualified f1(x) inside that body still uses dynamic dispatch on the original C instance, so it calls C.f1(X).Finally
c.f4(x) invokes the companion object C, which is a separate receiver extending B. Its f3(X) calls inherited B.f2(X), whose f1 call dispatches to ObjC.f1(X).[ref]Imperative Programming examination paper by the University of Oxford (2014). p. 10, Question 6(a), method bodies and calls
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