The GeometricObject and Circle classes are defined in this chapter. Analyze the following code. Which statements are correct?

Question

```
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
GeometricObject x = new Circle(3);
GeometricObject y = (Circle)(x.clone());
System.out.println(x);
System.out.println(y);
}
}
```
a. The program has a compile error because the clone() method is protected in the Object class.
b. After you override the clone() method and make it public in the Circle class, the problem can compile and run just fine, but y is null if Circle does not implement the Cloneable interface.
c. To enable a Circle object to be cloned, the Circle class has to override the clone() method and implement the java.lang.Cloneable interface.
d. If GeometricObject implements Cloneable and Circle overrides the clone() method, the clone() method will work fine to clone Circle objects.

Answer 1

a. The program has a compile error because the clone() method is protected in the Object class.
b. After you override the clone() method and make it public in the Circle class, the problem can compile and run just fine, but y is null if Circle does not implement the Cloneable interface.
c. To enable a Circle object to be cloned, the Circle class has to override the clone() method and implement the java.lang.Cloneable interface.
d. If GeometricObject implements Cloneable and Circle overrides the clone() method, the clone() method will work fine to clone Circle objects.