What is the usage of abstract classes in Java OOP?

What is the usage of abstract classes in Java OOP?

Abstract classes in Java are used to provide a base for subclasses. They can contain abstract methods that must be implemented by subclasses.

Can you give me an example of an abstract class?

Sure! An example would be an abstract class called 'Animal' with an abstract method 'makeSound()'. Subclasses like 'Dog' and 'Cat' would implement 'makeSound()'.

What are the benefits of using abstract classes?

Abstract classes promote code reusability and establish a common interface for subclasses, making the code more organized.

How do abstract classes differ from interfaces?

Abstract classes can have both abstract and concrete methods, while interfaces can only have abstract methods (until Java 8 introduced default methods).

When should I use an abstract class instead of an interface?

Use an abstract class when you want to share code among closely related classes, and use an interface when you want to define a contract for classes that may not be related.