Inheritance
Inheritance allows one class to reuse attributes and methods from another class. It helps you write cleaner, more efficient code by avoiding duplication.
We group the "inheritance concept" into two categories:
- derived class (child) - the class that inherits from another class
- base class (parent) - the class being inherited from
To inherit from a class, use the : symbol.
In the example below, the Car class (child) inherits the attributes and methods from the Vehicle class (parent):
Example
// Base class
class Vehicle {
public:
string brand = "Ford";
void honk() {
cout << "Tuut, tuut! \n" ;
}
};
// Derived
class
class Car: public Vehicle {
public:
string model = "Mustang";
};
int main() {
Car myCar;
myCar.honk();
cout << myCar.brand + " " + myCar.model;
return 0;
}
Note: Why And When To Use "Inheritance"? - It is useful for code reusability: reuse attributes and methods of an existing class when you create a new class.
