Automatic copying by ancestor in object-oriented languages

A computer-usable medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon for execution by a processor to perform a method of automatically defining a new class in a class hierarchy specified in an object-oriented programming language, the method comprising:

• creating a descendent class in the class hierarchy that descends from one or more specified ancestor classes of the class hierarchy;
• sequentially analyzing each class along each inheritance path from the one or more specified ancestor classes a specified similar class of the class hierarchy to identify each class item in each class along each inheritance path that is not selected from the one or more specified ancestor classes;
• storing a respective pointer in a first data structure for each class item identified in each class that is not inherited by the class in which the class item is identified referencing the class item and associated with the class in which the class item is identified;
• storing a respective pointer in the first data structure for each class item identified in each class that is inherited and redefined by the class in which the class item is identified referencing the class item and being associated with the class in which the identified class item is identified if a pointer referencing the class item is not already stored in the first data structure;
• and
• copying each class item referenced by a pointer stored in the first data structure to the descendent class.

A data processing system comprising:

• at least one processor;
• a random access memory for storing data and programs for execution by the at least one processor;
• and
• computer readable instructions stored in the random access memory for execution by the at least one processor to perform a method of automatically defining a new class in a class hierarchy specified in an object-oriented programming language, the method comprising:
• creating a descendent class in the class hierarchy that descends from one or more specified ancestor classes of the class hierarchy;
• sequentially analyzing each class along each inheritance path from the one or more specified ancestor classes to a specified similar class of the class hierarchy to identify each class item in each class along each inheritance path that is not selected from the one or more specified ancestor classes;
• storing a respective pointer in a first data structure for each class item identified in each class that is not inherited by the class in which the class item is identified referencing the class item and associated with the class in which the class item is identified;
• storing a respective pointer in the first data structure for each class item identified in each class that is inherited and redefined by the class in which the class item is identified referencing the class item and being associated with the class in which the identified class item is identified if a pointer referencing the class item is not already stored in the first data structure;
• and
• copying each class item referenced by a pointer stored in the first data structure to the descendent class.