abstract class

Also called an "abstract superclass," in object technology, it is a class created as a master structure. No objects of an abstract class are created, rather subclasses of the abstract class are defined with their own variations, and the subclasses are used to create the actual objects.

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(programming)

abstract class - In object-oriented programming, a class designed only as a parent from which sub-classes may be derived, but which is not itself suitable for instantiation. Often used to "abstract out" incomplete sets of features which may then be shared by a group of sibling sub-classes which add different variations of the missing pieces.