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From: Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.java.programmer
Subject: Re: calling own methods from constructor
Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:38:23 -0600
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Tom Anderson <twic@urchin.earth.li> writes:

>> In effect, until the constructor of Foo completes, the object is
>> considered to be an instance of Foo, so calls to virtualMethod() to
>> to Foo.virtualMethod even if it has been overridden.  After the
>> super constructor completes, the object is treated as an instance of
>> Bar, so evaluating new Bar().virtualMethod() would print two lines
>> and then throw an exception.
>
> I recoil in horror.

It's surprised me more than once.  You'd think after the first time I
would remember, but no...

>
>> I've been surprised by this behaviour in C++ enough times that I'm
>> not sure that it has the better approach.  But a solution does
>> exist.
>
> That's slightly like solving toothache by amputating your head.

C++ is an interesting language.  The interesting languages aren't always
the ones you want to do actual work in.

-- 
Jim Janney