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63. Basic Inheritance

1. Introduction​

Inheritance allows a class (child) to reuse code from another class (parent).

2. Simple Inheritance​

class Animal:
    def speak(self):
        print("Some sound")

class Dog(Animal):
    def speak(self):
        print("Woof!")

d = Dog()
d.speak()

3. Accessing Parent Methods​

Use super().

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

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

dog = Dog("Buddy", "Beagle")
print(dog.name, dog.breed)

4. Method Resolution Order (MRO)​

Python supports multiple inheritance; MRO decides which method to call.

print(Dog.__mro__)

5. Best Practices​

  • Inherit when classes are logically related.
  • Prefer composition (has-a) if inheritance doesn’t fit well.

6. Next Steps​

✅ You now understand inheritance.
Next: Encapsulation basics.