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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-14T06:59:23+00:00

This question occured to me while programming a Android application, but it seems to

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This question occured to me while programming a Android application,
but it seems to be a general programming question more.

The situation is, I am extending (subclass-ing) an class from a library, and overriding a method. how do I know if I should invoke the method of super-class? and when? (in the beginning of the overridden method or in the end?)

For example, I am overriding the method “public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu)” from class “Activity” in Android platform. And I saw someone write “return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu)” in the end of the method, in an example. But how do I know it should be done this way? and it is correct or not? what’s the difference if I begin my method with “super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu)”?

BR,
Henry

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    I don’t think you can answer this question in the abstract: it depends on the behavior of the superclass method you’re overriding.

    Depending on circumstances, it may be appropriate to:

    • call super first
    • call super last
    • handle some cases yourself (customizations), call super for the rest
    • never call super

    Hopefully the documentation for the particular class you’re overriding will tell you if/when it’s necessary to call super.

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