How could “it depend”??!? Aren terms like “Circle” and “Ellipse” defined mathematically?
It’s irrelevant that those terms are defined mathematically. That irrelevance is why “it depends.” The first step in any rational discussion is to define terms. In this case, the first step is to define the terms Circle and Ellipse. Believe it or not, most heated disagreements over whether class Circle should/shouldn’t inherit from class Ellipse are caused by incompatible definitions of those terms. The key insight is to forget mathematics and “the real world,” and instead accept as final the only definitions that are relevant for answering the question: the classes themselves. Take Ellipse. You created a class with that name, so the one and only final arbiter of what you meant by that term is your class. People who try to mix “the real world” into the discussion get hopelessly confused, and often get into heated (and, sadly, meaningless) arguments. Since so many people just don’t get it, here’s an example.
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- How could "it depend"??!? Aren terms like "Circle" and "Ellipse" defined mathematically?
