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Many of Us Misunderstand the Liskov Substitution Principle — Let’s Unfold Everything and Master LSP
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In the realm of object-oriented programming, designing robust and maintainable systems is paramount. One of the foundational principles that help achieve this is the Liskov Substitution Principle (LSP). If you’ve ever dealt with class hierarchies, you’ve likely encountered situations where substitutability can lead to confusion or errors. In this blog post, we’ll break down the Liskov Substitution Principle, understand its importance, and see how to implement it effectively using Kotlin.
What is the Liskov Substitution Principle?
The Liskov Substitution Principle, named after Barbara Liskov who introduced it in 1987, states that:
If S is a subtype of T, then objects of type T should be replaceable with objects of type S without affecting the correctness of the program.
In simple words, a subclass should work in place of its superclass without causing any problems. This helps us avoid mistakes and makes our code easier to expand without bugs. For example, if you have a class Bird
and a subclass Penguin
, you should be able to use Penguin
anywhere you use Bird
without issues.