A method for the management of exceptions in multiple inheritance systems

Abstract

Multiple inheritance systems with exceptions in object-oriented languages are examined. Two types of exceptions may be identified: exceptions by cancellation of an inheritance link and exceptions by cancellation of property. For each type of exception, contradictions appear when there are simultaneously several paths of the inheritance graph, which allow inheritance from an object or from a property to take place or not. If certain contradictions are commonly solved by masking, there are contradictions for which no common method of resolution exists. A method for the management of the contradictions in object languages is proposed. This method is based on a computation of the complexity of inheritance paths which produce a contradiction.<>