Explain the concept of Java inheritance.

[shreyiot]

Inheritance is one of the core concepts of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Java. It allows a new class (called the subclass or child class) to inherit the properties and behaviors (fields and methods) of an existing class (called the superclass or parent class). This helps in code reuse, improves maintainability, and supports polymorphism.


In Java, inheritance is implemented using the extends keyword. For example:

class Animal {
void eat() {
System.out.println("This animal eats food.");
}
}

class Dog extends Animal {
void bark() {
System.out.println("The dog barks.");
}
}


In this case, the Dog class inherits the eat() method from the Animal class, and also defines its own method bark(). When an object of Dog is created, it can access both methods:

Dog d = new Dog();
d.eat(); // Inherited method
d.bark(); // Dog's own method

There are different types of inheritance in Java:

1. Single Inheritance – A class inherits from one superclass.
2. Multilevel Inheritance – A class inherits from a class that inherits from another class.
3. Hierarchical Inheritance – Multiple classes inherit from the same superclass.

Note that Java does not support multiple inheritance with classes to avoid complexity and ambiguity. However, it supports multiple inheritance through interfaces. Inheritance also supports the super keyword, which is used to refer to the immediate parent class object and is often used to call parent class constructors or methods.


Using inheritance effectively helps in building scalable and well-structured applications, especially when dealing with large codebases in enterprise applications.
To gain hands-on experience with inheritance and other core Java concepts, consider enrolling in a full stack Java developer course that covers both backend and frontend development comprehensively.