Hi Clovis,
I have a different perspective on the answer to your question, than those already expressed
here. And far be it from me to attempt to put words in anybody's mouth.
But (here goes) ... I think what Kathy and Bert are referring to when they say:
These instance variables are created when any subclass is instantiated. (These aren't the REAL Object variables ...
is that the class java.lang.Object contains some instance variables. Look it up! It really does. Nothing public however.
What Kathy and Bert are saying is that because we did a "new Snowboard()" we got a Snowboard
object. However, because Snowboard is a subclass of Object (everything is a subclass of Object),
Snowboard also has the instance variables declared in Object. These are not REAL Object
instance variables because they are brought to life by the creation of a Snowboard, not an
Object.
It's a throwaway remark, not a big deal. After all, since it is a subclass of Object, Snowboard
IS an Object, and thus would really have all the instance variables that Object has.
Hope this helps! Ignore if not!
Cheers,
Peter