Understanding Inheritance in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Inheritance in Object-Oriented Programming is like a family tree for classes.

Here’s how it works:

• A class can borrow traits and behaviors from another class.
• The class that gives these traits is called the superclass.
• The class that gets the traits is called the subclass.

This idea is different from two other important concepts: encapsulation and polymorphism.

Key Differences:

• Inheritance:

  • This lets classes be organized in a hierarchy and share code.
  • Example: Imagine a Dog class that inherits from an Animal class. This means that the Dog class can use traits from the Animal class.

• Encapsulation:

  • This keeps data safe by wrapping it up with methods (functions that define actions).
  • Example: Using private attributes in a class helps keep certain information protected.

• Polymorphism:

  • This allows methods to act differently depending on the object they’re working with.
  • Example: A draw() method can create different shapes. It will work one way for a Circle class and another way for a Square class.

In summary, inheritance helps share traits, encapsulation keeps things safe, and polymorphism allows for different behaviors. These concepts work together in OOP to make programming easier and more organized!