java - Why do we have to call super in Android sometimes?

Question

Sometimes when I override methods, I get an exception the first time it's called like below:

05-31 21:32:04.266: E/AndroidRuntime(28471): android.support.v4.app.SuperNotCalledException: 
Fragment AnalFragment{41795860 #1 id=0x7f070002} did not call through to super.onDestroy()

Why are we forced to call super.method()? It makes sense that there are obligations by the parent class, but more importantly, how do we know that a method requires super to be called, rather than waiting for it to crash?

Answer 1

Why are we forced to call super.method()?

The classes that make up the Android SDK can be incredibly complex. For instance, both activities and fragments must perform a number of operations in order to function properly (i.e. managing life cycle, optimizing memory usage, drawing the layout to the screen, etc.). Requiring the client to make a call to the base class (often at the beginning of the method) ensures that these operations are still performed, while still providing a reasonable level of abstraction for the developer.

How do we know that a function method requires super to be called?

The documentation should tell you whether or not this is required. If it doesn't I'd Google-search for some sample code (or check the API demos... or better yet, look at the source code!). It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out.