Python Inheritance

Python inheritance is a mechanism that allows a class to inherit the properties and methods of another class. The class that is being inherited from is called the base class or superclass, and the class that inherits from it is called the derived class or subclass.

In Python, inheritance is achieved by creating a new class and specifying the base class as a parameter in the class definition. The derived class can then access the attributes and methods of the base class. This promotes code reusability and helps in organizing code into logical and hierarchical structures.

Here’s an example to illustrate Python inheritance:

python

class Vehicle:
    def __init__(self, brand, color):
        self.brand = brand
        self.color = color
    
    def drive(self):
        print(f"The {self.color} {self.brand} is being driven.")
    
    def stop(self):
        print(f"The {self.color} {self.brand} has stopped.")


class Car(Vehicle):
    def __init__(self, brand, color, num_wheels):
        super().__init__(brand, color)
        self.num_wheels = num_wheels
    
    def drift(self):
        print(f"The {self.color} {self.brand} is drifting.")
    

# Creating instances of the classes
vehicle = Vehicle("Vehicle Brand", "Red")
car = Car("Toyota", "Blue", 4)

# Accessing attributes and methods
vehicle.drive()    # Output: The Red Vehicle Brand is being driven.
car.drive()        # Output: The Blue Toyota is being driven.
car.drift()        # Output: The Blue Toyota is drifting.
car.stop()         # Output: The Blue Toyota has stopped.

In the example above, the Vehicle class is the base class, and the Car class is the derived class. The Car class inherits from the Vehicle class by specifying Vehicle as a parameter in the class definition.

The Car class has an additional attribute num_wheels and a new method drift compared to the base class. It can still access the attributes and methods of the base class by using the super() function. In this case, super().__init__(brand, color) calls the constructor of the Vehicle class to initialize the brand and color attributes.

When creating instances of the classes, you can see that both vehicle and car objects can access the drive() method. However, only the car object can access the drift() method, as it is specific to the Car class.

Inheritance in Python supports single inheritance, where a derived class can inherit from only one base class. However, multiple inheritance is also possible, where a derived class can inherit from multiple base classes. Python provides a flexible and powerful inheritance mechanism to build complex class hierarchies and promote code reuse.