Inheritance
Inheritance is a mechanism in Java by which one class can inherit the properties and methods of another class.
How Inheritance Works
Inheritance is implemented using the extends
keyword:
public class Vehicle {
String brand;
public void honk() {
System.out.println("Beep beep!");
}
}
public class Car extends Vehicle {
String model;
public static void main(String[] args) {
Car myCar = new Car();
myCar.brand = "Toyota";
myCar.model = "Corolla";
myCar.honk();
System.out.println(myCar.brand + " " + myCar.model);
}
}
In this example, Car
is a subclass of Vehicle
, inheriting its properties and methods.
Types of Inheritance
Java supports the following types of inheritance:
- Single Inheritance – A class inherits from one superclass.
- Multilevel Inheritance – A class inherits from a superclass, and another class inherits from that subclass.
- Hierarchical Inheritance – Multiple classes inherit from a single superclass.
Method Overriding
Method overriding occurs when a subclass provides a specific implementation of a method already provided by its superclass:
public class Animal {
public void makeSound() {
System.out.println("Animal sound");
}
}
public class Dog extends Animal {
@Override
public void makeSound() {
System.out.println("Bark");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Dog myDog = new Dog();
myDog.makeSound(); // Outputs: Bark
}
}
In this example, the Dog
class overrides the makeSound
method of the Animal
class.
Continue exploring our intermediate tutorials to learn more about Java programming.