Python Inheritance

Inheritance is a powerful feature of object-oriented programming that allows a class to inherit attributes and methods from another class.

1. Creating a Parent Class

You can create a parent class with attributes and methods that will be inherited by its subclasses.

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

    def sound(self):
        pass  # Placeholder method

2. Creating a Subclass

A subclass can inherit attributes and methods from its parent class using the super() function.

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

    def sound(self):
        return "Woof!"

3. Using Inherited Methods

Subclasses can use inherited methods from the parent class.

dog = Dog("Buddy", "Golden Retriever")
print(dog.sound())  # Output: Woof!

4. Overriding Methods

Subclasses can override methods of the parent class by defining the same method name.

class Cat(Animal):
    def sound(self):
        return "Meow!"

cat = Cat("Whiskers")
print(cat.sound())  # Output: Meow!

Conclusion

Inheritance allows you to create classes that are based on existing classes, enabling code reuse and the creation of a hierarchy of classes with increasing levels of specialization.