C++ Inheritance

🧬 C++ Inheritance – Reuse and Extend Like a Pro

Inheritance in C++ is like passing down family traits. 👨‍👩‍👧 One class can inherit properties and behaviors from another, letting you reuse code and build on it!

🔍 What Is Inheritance?

Inheritance allows a derived class to use the variables and functions of a base class. This helps you avoid repeating code (yay!) and make things more organized.

📦 Syntax of Inheritance

class Derived : access Base {
    // additional stuff
};

• Base: The parent class
• Derived: The child class
• access: public, protected, or private

🔧 Example: Simple Inheritance

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Animal {
public:
    void speak() {
        cout << "Animal speaks!" << endl;
    }
};

class Dog : public Animal {
public:
    void bark() {
        cout << "Dog barks!" << endl;
    }
};

int main() {
    Dog myDog;
    myDog.speak();  // Inherited from Animal
    myDog.bark();   // Own function

    return 0;
}
  

🔓 Types of Access Specifiers

When inheriting, you can use:

• public: Keeps public members public
• protected: Keeps public & protected as protected
• private: Everything becomes private in the derived class

📚 Types of Inheritance

• Single: One base, one derived
• Multiple: One derived, many bases
• Multilevel: A inherits B, B inherits C
• Hierarchical: One base, many derived
• Hybrid: A mix of all

🔧 Example: Multilevel Inheritance

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Living {
public:
    void breathe() {
        cout << "Breathing..." << endl;
    }
};

class Human : public Living {
public:
    void speak() {
        cout << "Talking..." << endl;
    }
};

class Student : public Human {
public:
    void study() {
        cout << "Studying..." << endl;
    }
};

int main() {
    Student s;
    s.breathe();
    s.speak();
    s.study();

    return 0;
}
  

🧾 Summary

• Inheritance helps reuse code between classes
• Base class passes its features to the derived class
• Use : public Base for clean and clear inheritance
• It’s like giving your child your awesome coding skills! 😄