Do I really have a car in my garage? [duplicate]

Answer 1

Create Vehicle level fields that will help make each individual Vehicle more distinct.

public abstract class Vehicle {
    public final boolean isCar;
    public final boolean isBoat;

    public Vehicle (boolean isCar, boolean isBoat) {
        this.isCar  = isCar;
        this.isBoat = isBoat;
    }
}

Set the Vehicle level fields in the inheriting class to the appropriate value.

public class Car extends Vehicle {
    public Car (...) {
        super(true, false);
        ...
    }
}

public class Boat extends Vehicle {
    public Boat (...) {
        super(false, true);
        ...
    }
}

Implement using the Vehicle level fields to properly decipher the vehicle type.

boolean carIsAutomatic = false;

if (myGarage[0].isCar) {
    Car car = (Car) myGarage[0];
    car.carMethod();
    carIsAutomatic = car.auto;
}

else if (myGarage[0].isBoat) {
    Boat boat = (Boat) myGarage[0];
    boat.boatMethod();
}

Since your telling your compiler that everything in your garage is a Vehicle, your stuck with the Vehicle class level methods and fields. If you want to properly decipher the Vehicle type, then you should set some class level fields e.g. isCar and isBoat that will give you the programmer a better understanding of what type of Vehicle you are using.

Java is a type safe language so its best to always type check before handling data that has been casted like your Boats and Cars.