What is a Generalization?
Class A is a generalization of class B. This implies that all objects in class B are also objects in class A. In other words, B is a subset of A.
B is then the subclass and A the superclass.
Example A: Person, B: Bostonian.
B is a subset of A, so the objects in class B inherit the characteristics of those in class A.
It is therefore unnecessary to redescribe for class B:
• Its attributes
• Its operations
• Its associations
Example
The "Large Client” class, representing Clients with a 12-month revenue exceeding $1 million, can be a specialization of the Client class (origin).
In the above example, the associations and attributes specified for “Client” are also valid for “Large client”.
