Class inheritance terminology: super-classes or base classes?
 

I started reading through The Java Tutorial by Sharon Zakhour for uni this fall, and I wondered: which terminology do you prefer?

If/when they adopt a Java standard, the question will become irrelevant.

For languages with multiple inheritance "base classes" makes more sense.

Good point. I want the question to be open for class terminology generally, though.

By the way,"subclass" is a bad idea - because some languages (e.g. C++) allow classes to be declared/defined within other classes. So intuitively "subclass" can also mean these inner classes.

Do you mean that syntactically, one class definition/declaration is inside of another? Technically that's composition.

Apparently I can't change my title.

Edit: did it!

Base & Derived Classes
 

We have been using C++ since 1993, and have always used "base class(es)" and "derived class(es)". We find this to be more intuitive than "super class(es) and sub-class(es)". Along with "inheritance" the concept of base classes & derived classes makes more sense. This meaning does not seem to get conveyed when one uses "super class(es) and sub-class(es)".

"super class" for base is just wrong, it implies a higher order or improved class.
A super class seems a better name for a derivative.

being from england I am very class conscious.
it should be: working, middle, upper.

actually it is quite appropriate when you think about it.