University of Central Florida (UCF) COP3330 Object Oriented Programming Final Practice Exam

The keyword that indicates a method is not overridden in a subclass is "final." When a method is declared as final in a class, it signifies that no subclass will be able to override that particular method. This is important for maintaining the intended behavior of the method when inheritance is involved. By preventing overriding, it helps ensure that the logic contained within the method remains consistent across all instances of the class hierarchy.

Using final methods can also lead to performance benefits in certain scenarios, as the Java compiler may optimize calls to those methods, knowing they will not be overridden. In contrast, other keywords, such as static, abstract, and private, serve different purposes in the context of Java's object-oriented programming paradigm. Static methods belong to the class itself rather than any instance, abstract methods must be implemented in subclasses, and private methods restrict access to the containing class, none of which relate to overriding in the same way that final does.