Can't declare an abstract method private
java, oop
Solution
Private methods are not polymorphic (you cannot inherit them), so it makes no sense to make a private method abstract. Making a method abstract means you'd have to override and implement it in a subclass, but since you can't override private methods, you can't make them abstract either.
You should make it `protected` instead of `private`.
Private really means private to the class you've defined the method in; even subclasses don't see private methods.
Problem
I want to do this, yet I can't. Here is my scenario and rational. I have an abstract class for test cases that has an abstract method called test(). The test() method is to be defined by the subclass; it is to be implemented with logic for a certain application, such as `CRMAppTestCase extends CompanyTestCase`. I don't want the test() method to be invoked directly, I want the super class to call the test() method while the sub class can call a method which calls this (and does other work too, such as setting a current date-time right before the test is executed for example). Example code: ``` public abstract class CompanyTestCase { //I wish this would compile, but it cannot be declared private private abstract void test(); public TestCaseResult performTest() { //do some work which must be done and should be invoked whenever //this method is called (it would be improper to expect the caller // to perform initialization) TestCaseResult result = new TestCaseResult(); result.setBeginTime(new Date()); long time = System.currentTimeMillis(); test(); //invoke test logic result.setDuration(System.currentTimeMillis() - time); return result; } } ``` Then to extend this.... ``` public class CRMAppTestCase extends CompanyTestCase { public void test() { //test logic here } } ``` Then to call it.... ``` TestCaseResult result = new CRMAppTestCase().performTest(); ```