Introduction to Inheritance in Java

Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows one class (the subclass) to inherit fields and methods from another class (the superclass). This promotes code reusability and establishes a natural hierarchical relationship between classes.

Key Concepts of Inheritance:

  1. Superclass and Subclass:
    • Superclass (Parent Class): The class whose features are inherited. It provides common attributes and behaviors that can be shared by subclasses.
    • Subclass (Child Class): The class that inherits from the superclass. It can extend or modify the behavior of the superclass and add its own unique features.
  2. Basic Syntax:
    • To declare a subclass, use the extends keyword. ```java public class Subclass extends Superclass { // Subclass-specific fields and methods }

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public class Vehicle {
    float miles = 0;
    float milesTraveled(float milesToAdd){
        this.miles += milesToAdd;
        return this.miles;
    }
    boolean hasMovement = true;
}

public class Car extends Vehicle {
    boolean canFly = true;
}

public class Plane extends Vehicle {
    boolean canFly = true;
}

Car myCar = new Car();
System.out.println("As you can see my Car also has the inherited varible hasMovement");
System.out.println("myCar.hasMovement: "+(new Boolean(myCar.hasMovement)).toString());

As you can see my Car also has the inherited varible hasMovement
myCar.hasMovement: true