Inheritance

Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) where a new class (called a child or subclass) is created based on an existing class (called a parent or superclass). The child class inherits the properties and methods of the parent class, allowing for code reuse and the creation of a hierarchical relationship between classes.

Inheritance allows for the extension and modification of behavior without altering existing code. It promotes code reuse and helps in organizing code into a hierarchical structure. A child class can override methods of the parent class to provide specific implementations while still retaining the overall structure and behavior of the parent class.

Example: In JavaScript, inheritance is typically implemented using classes and the extends keyword:

// Parent class
class Animal {
    constructor(name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    speak() {
        console.log(`${this.name} makes a sound.`);
    }
}

// Child class
class Dog extends Animal {
    constructor(name, breed) {
        super(name); // Call the parent class constructor
        this.breed = breed;
    }

    speak() {
        console.log(`${this.name} barks.`);
    }
}

const dog = new Dog('Rex', 'German Shepherd');
dog.speak(); // Output: Rex barks.

In this example:

• The Animal class is the parent class with a constructor and a speak method.
• The Dog class is the child class that extends the Animal class, inheriting its properties and methods.
• The Dog class overrides the speak method to provide a specific implementation.
• The super keyword is used to call the constructor of the parent class within the child class.