How can interfaces replace the need for multiple inheritance when have existing classes

Question

First of all... Sorry for this post. I know that there are many many posts on stackoverflow which are discussing multiple inheritance. But I already know that Java does not

Answer 1

Using composition would be the way to go as another developer suggested. The main argument against multiple inheritance is the ambiguity created when you're extending from two classes with the same method declaration (same method name & parameters). Personally, however, I think that's a load of crap. A compilation error could easily be thrown in this situation, which wouldn't be much different from defining multiple methods of the same name in a single class. Something like the following code snippet could easily solve this dilema:

public MyExtendedClass extends ClassA, ClassB {
    public duplicateMethodName() {
        return ClassA.duplicateMethodName();
    }
}

Another argument against multiple inheritance is that Java was trying to keep things simple so that amateur developers don't create a web of interdependent classes that could create a messy, confusing software system. But as you see in your case, it also complicates and confuses things when it's not available. Plus, that argument could be used for a 100 other things in coding, which is why development teams have code reviews, style checking software, and nightly builds.

In your particular situation though, you'll have to settle with composition (see Shojaei Baghini's answer). It adds a bit of boiler plate code, but it emulates the same behavior as multiple inheritance.