What is inheritance and how does it support code reuse?
What is inheritance and how does it support code reuse?
19721-Jun-2023
Updated on 25-Jun-2023
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What is inheritance and how does it support code reuse?
Aryan Kumar
25-Jun-2023Inheritance is a mechanism in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows a new class to inherit the properties and methods of an existing class. This means that the new class can use the code that is already written in the existing class, without having to reimplement it. This can save time and effort, and it can also help to ensure that the code is implemented consistently.
For example, let's say we have a
Vehicle
class with a method calledstart()
. This method starts the vehicle. We could then have aCar
class that inherits from theVehicle
class. TheCar
class could use thestart()
method from theVehicle
class, without having to reimplement it.Inheritance can also be used to support code reuse in more complex ways. For example, we could have a
Shape
class with a method calleddraw()
. This method draws the shape. We could then have subclasses ofShape
that represent specific types of shapes, such as circles, squares, and triangles. These subclasses could inherit thedraw()
method from theShape
class, but they could also override thedraw()
method to provide their own implementation. This would allow each subclass to draw its own type of shape in a unique way.Inheritance is a powerful tool that can be used to achieve greater code reuse in OOP. It allows programmers to create new classes that are based on existing classes, without having to reimplement the code that is already written. This can save time and effort, and it can also help to ensure that the code is implemented consistently.
Here are some of the benefits of inheritance: