Static methods cannot be overridden in subclasses (doesn’t allow for polymorphism) since they are resolved at compile time.
Each class can define their own static methods with the same name/signature of the static methods as defined in their subclasses/superclasses. Same thing for static variables. You cannot use “override” in such a situation since static methods and variables don’t exist within the inheritance chain of the class in AS3 while polymorphism is determined by AVM at run-time.
It is permissible to define an instance property/method using the same name as a static property/method since instance properties/methods are resolved at run-time. (Note that if the static variable has an accessors method which has the same name as a variable, your code won’t work properly.)
The following code will compile:
class A
{
public var NAME:String = "A";
public static var NAME:String= "A Static";
public function name():String
{
return this.NAME;
}
public static function name():String
{
return A.NAME;
}
protected function walk():void{
trace(”an A is walking.”);
}
}
Class B extends A{
//Cannot say “override static function walk()” since we are NOT overriding an instance method.
public static function walk():void
{
trace(”Everyone who is B is walking.”);
}
}
