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Oracle TopLink Developer's Guide 10g Release 3 (10.1.3) B13593-01 |
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# Configuring Inheritance for a Child (Branch or Leaf) Class Descriptor

Inheritance describes how a derived (child) class inherits the characteristics of its superclass (parent). When you designate a class as a child, you must also specify the descriptor that represents the child's parent in your inheritance hierarchy.

Table 28-38 summarizes which descriptors support child inheritance configuration.

Table 28-20 Descriptor Support for Child Inheritance Configuration

Descriptor | Using TopLink Workbench | Using Java
--- | --- | ---
Relational Descriptors |  |
Object-Relational Descriptors |  |
EIS Descriptors |  |
XML Descriptors |  |

For more information about inheritance, see "Descriptors and Inheritance".

For more information about configuring inheritance for a parent (root) class descriptor, see "Configuring Inheritance for a Parent (Root) Descriptor".

## Using TopLink Workbench

To create a child (branch or leaf class) for an inheritance, use this procedure.

1. In the Navigator, select the descriptor you wish to specify as a child.

2. Choose the Inheritance tab in the Property window.

   If the Inheritance tab is not visible, right-click the descriptor and choose Select Advanced Properties > Inheritance.

3. Select the Is Child Descriptor option to specify this descriptor is a child class. The Parent Descriptor list is now enabled and the class indicator information is disabled.

   Figure 28-32 Creating a Root Class, Inheritance Tab

   Description of "Figure 28-32 Creating a Root Class, Inheritance Tab"

Field | Description
--- | ---
Is Child Descriptor | Specify that this descriptor is a child class to be used in a branch or leaf.
Parent Descriptor | Use the list to select the parent of this descriptor. See "Descriptors and Inheritance" for more information.

## Using Java

Using Java, you can configure an inheritance child descriptor using `InheritancePolicy` method `setParentClass` as Example Example 28-10 shows.

Example 28-10 Configuring an Inheritance Child Descriptor

    descriptor.getInheritancePolicy().setParentClass(ChildClass.class);