Which is better option

[bashish]

I have two classes PersonalDetails and ProfessionalDetails. Now I have to derive classes for permanent / Temp / consultant employee from PersonalDetails. The derived class should also contain information of ProfessionalDetails.

So I have some options

1. Derive the classes taking both as base
2. Derive the classes from PersonalDetails and add object of ProfessionalDetails.

I would like to know which is better in terms of coding, memory usage etc.


Thanks
bashish

[Graham]

3. Have both as member objects.

The relationship between an "employee" and these details is HAS-A in both cases, not IS-A

[cilu]

3. Have both as member objects.
What about a Decorator? I think it's appropriate because only some people need Professional Details. And if later he finds out that some people need some ExtraDetails, then the changes needed are minimal.

[Graham]

A good point, it's just that I read the question as implying that all the employees would have both types of details, so that level of flexibility might be classed as over-design in this case. Decorator is certainly worth considering if there was a possibility that professional details might not be applicable, though.

[bashish]

Can you give me details of Decorator

bashish

[Andreas Masur]

Decorator (http://home.earthlink.net/~huston2/dp/decorator.html)...

[cilu]

Not to mention "Design Patterns" by Gamma & Co (Gang of Four) and "Thinking in Patters" in Java or C++ by Bruce Eckel.

[bashish]

Thanks every one.


bashish