If you ever open the hood of a modern car and look around a bit you'll discover that at the front there's a half dozen pullies connected to one or more belts. Each of these pullies is connected to some diffeerent system each able to turn rotational acceleration into a useful service. The alternator converts that rotational energy into electricity. The AC unit uses it to operate a heat pump. The coolant and oil pumps use it to circulate fluid. In the past, these parts were sometimes driven by another system or integrated directly into another part. But over time, as a convenience to many different parties it was decided they should all implement a pully and connect dirctly to one of the main belts that connect directly to the motor. Not a single one of these parts has anything you'd call a taxonomical relationship. They do have an invented one. And it is as much about conveniencing the overall system design as much as conveniencing the individual part design. They are all "pully implementers" subscribed to the "belt druve" system.
This is the inheritence I find most powerful in software. These things aren't the same but if we treat them the same, the downstream and upstream code are simpler, easier to replace and consistent. I don't worry too much about the philisophical relationship between the objects.
This is the inheritence I find most powerful in software. These things aren't the same but if we treat them the same, the downstream and upstream code are simpler, easier to replace and consistent. I don't worry too much about the philisophical relationship between the objects.