Inheritance in Python

Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows a class (called a child or derived class) to inherit attributes and methods from another class (called a parent or base class).

Example: Here, a parent class Animal is created that has a method info(). Then a child classes Dog is created that inherit from Animal and add their own behavior.

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

    def info(self):
        print("Animal name:", self.name)

class Dog(Animal):
    def sound(self):
        print(self.name, "barks")

d = Dog("Buddy")
d.info()      # Inherited method
d.sound()     

Animal name: Buddy
Buddy barks

Explanation:

• class Animal: Defines the parent class.
• info(): Prints the name of the animal.
• class Dog(Animal): Defines Dog as a child of Animal class.
• d.info(): Calls parent method info() and d.sound(): Calls child method.

Why do we need Inheritance

• Promotes code reusability by sharing attributes and methods across classes.
• Models real-world hierarchies like Animal -> Dog or Person -> Employee.
• Simplifies maintenance through centralized updates in parent classes.
• Enables method overriding for customized subclass behavior.
• Supports scalable, extensible design using polymorphism.

super() Function

super() function is used to call the parent class’s methods. In particular, it is commonly used in the child class's __init__() method to initialize inherited attributes. This way, the child class can leverage the functionality of the parent class.

Example: Here, Dog uses super() to call Animal's constructor

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

    def info(self):
        print("Animal name:", self.name)

# Child Class: Dog
class Dog(Animal):
    def __init__(self, name, breed):
        super().__init__(name)   # Call parent constructor
        self.breed = breed

    def details(self):
        print(self.name, "is a", self.breed)

d = Dog("Buddy", "Golden Retriever")
d.info()      # Parent method
d.details()   # Child method

Animal name: Buddy
Buddy is a Golden Retriever

Explanation:

• The super() function is used inside __init__() method of Dog to call the constructor of Animal and initialize inherited attribute (name).
• This ensures that parent class functionality is reused without needing to rewrite the code in the child class.

Related Articles:

• Types of inheritance in Python
  
• Multiple Inheritance in Python