A class from which another class inherits. In most
cases, the inheriting class is a specialization of the base class.
For example, the class MMTK.ChemicalObjects.Molecule is a
base class of MMTK.Proteins.PeptideChain,
because peptide chains are special molecules. Another common
application is the Abstract base class.
Mix-in class
A class that is used as a Base class
in other classes with the sole intention of providing methods
that are common to these classes. Mix-in classes cannot be used
to create instances. They are a special kind of
Abstract base class.
Example: class MMTK.Collections.GroupOfAtoms.
Subclass
A class that has another class as its Base class.
The subclass is usually a specialization of the base class, and can
use all of the methods defined in the base class.
Example: class MMTK.Proteins.Residue is
a subclass of MMTK.ChemicalObjects.Group.