Java inheritance

Java - Inheritance. ... With the use of inheritance the information is made manageable in a hierarchical order. The class which inherits the properties of other is known as subclass (derived class, child class) and the class whose properties are inherited is known as superclass (base class, parent class).

Types of inheritance in java

On the basis of class, there can be three types of inheritance in java: single, multilevel and hierarchical.

In java programming, multiple and hybrid inheritance is supported through interface only. We will learn about interfaces later.

types of inheritance in java
Note: Multiple inheritance is not supported in java through class.

When a class extends multiple classes i.e. known as multiple inheritance. For Example:

multiple inheritance in java
Single Inheritance Example

File: TestInheritance.java

class Animal{
void eat(){System.out.println("eating...");}
}
class Dog extends Animal{
void bark(){System.out.println("barking...");}
}
class TestInheritance{
public static void main(String args[]){
Dog d=new Dog();
d.bark();
d.eat();
}}
Output:

barking...
eating...
Multilevel Inheritance Example

File: TestInheritance2.java

class Animal{
void eat(){System.out.println("eating...");}
}
class Dog extends Animal{
void bark(){System.out.println("barking...");}
}
class BabyDog extends Dog{
void weep(){System.out.println("weeping...");}
}
class TestInheritance2{
public static void main(String args[]){
BabyDog d=new BabyDog();
d.weep();
d.bark();
d.eat();
}}
Output:

weeping...
barking...
eating...
Hierarchical Inheritance Example

File: TestInheritance3.java

class Animal{
void eat(){System.out.println("eating...");}
}
class Dog extends Animal{
void bark(){System.out.println("barking...");}
}
class Cat extends Animal{
void meow(){System.out.println("meowing...");}
}
class TestInheritance3{
public static void main(String args[]){
Cat c=new Cat();
c.meow();
c.eat();
//c.bark();
}}
Output:

meowing...
eating...