Object-oriented inheritance has been in widespread use for a decade, and it is now realised that although inheritance is a powerful modelling tool with many associated advantages, its benefits are not automatically conferred on systems that simply use it.
This book introduces a model of inheritance based around five fundamental inheritance relationships. Each relationship has a clear conceptual basis, representing a fundamental, specialised use of inheritance. The resulting model replaces a confused notion of inheritance with five distinct conceptual relationships supporting more precise modelling of systems and capturing the semantic intent of each use of inheritance within a system.

Introduction.- Objectives and Limitations.- Approach.- Conventions.- Outline.- Current Understanding of Inheritance.- The Origin of Inheritance.- What is Inheritance?- Advantages of Inheritance.- Problems with Inheritance.- Understanding Inheritance.- Conclusion.- Structured Inheritance Relationships (SIRs).- Context and Scope.- Variant.- View.- Evolution.- Construction.- Specialisation.- Conclusion.- A New Model of Inheritance.- Underlying Model.- Presentation of the SIR Model.- SIR.- SIR Specialisation.- SIR Variant.- SIR Construction.- SIR View.- SIR Evolution.- Multiple Inheritance in the SIR Model.- Relationship with Other Work.- Conclusions.- Techniques for Structured Use of Inheritance.- Required Architectural Qualities.- Planning Techniques.- Variability Techniques.- Adaptation Techniques.- Modification Techniques.- Conclusion.- Case Studies: Applying the SIR Framework.- Restricted Subclasses: The Square/Rectangle Problem.- Binary Methods: Points and Coloured Points.- Case Study: Web Site Manager.- Conclusion.- Implementation Techniques.- Levels of Support.- Implementation Approaches.- Support for Specialisation.- Support for Variant.- Support for Construction.- Support for View.- Support for Evolution.- CASE Tool Support.- Conclusion.- Structured Inheritance Relationships.- A New Model of Inheritance.- Techniques for Disciplined Software Construction.- Inheritance for Reuse.- Understanding of Inheritance.- Directions for New Research.- A Final Word.- Glossary of Terms.- References.- Index.-