Inheritance

Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows one class to inherit the properties and methods of another class. The class that inherits is called the subclass or derived class, and the class being inherited from is called the superclass or base class.  

Syntax:

Python

class ParentClass:
    # Parent class attributes and methods

class ChildClass(ParentClass):
    # Child class attributes and methods

Example:

Python

class Animal: 
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

    def speak(self):
        print("Animal is making a sound")

class Dog(Animal):
    def speak(self):
        print("Woof!")

# Create objects
animal = Animal("Generic Animal")
dog = Dog("Buddy")

# Accessing methods
animal.speak()  # Output: Animal is making a sound
dog.speak()     # Output: Woof!

Key points:

• The Dog class inherits the name attribute from the Animal class.
• The Dog class overrides the speak method to provide specific behavior.
• Objects of the Dog class can access both inherited and overridden methods.

Types of Inheritance:

• Single Inheritance: A class inherits from only one parent class.
• Multiple Inheritance: A class inherits from multiple parent classes (not supported in Python).
• Multilevel Inheritance: Involves multiple levels of inheritance, where a derived class inherits from a base class, and another derived class inherits from the first derived class.
• Hierarchical Inheritance: Multiple subclasses inherit from a single base class.
• Hybrid Inheritance: A combination of multiple types of inheritance.

Benefits of Inheritance:

• Code Reusability: Avoids code duplication.
• Hierarchical Classification: Organizes classes into a hierarchical structure.
• Polymorphism: Enables different objects to be treated as if they were of the same type.

By understanding inheritance, you can create more organized, efficient, and reusable code in your Python programs.

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