clone() has protected access - made public Object clone()

Question

I\'m writing code to create an object, clone the object, then compare the two.

The object in question, Octagon, is an extension of an object GeometricObject

Answer 1

You may write a copy-constructor:

public Octagon( Octagon right ){
    this.side = right.side;
}

And use it from the clone method:

public Object clone() throws CloneNotSupportedException {
    return new Octagon( this );
}

Answer 2

Replace

Octagon copy = (Octagon)test.clone();

with

Octagon copy = (Octagon)((Octagon)test).clone();

so that the called clone method is the one of your class.