Inheritance in Java

    Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) languages like Java. It allows a class to inherit properties and behaviors (fields and methods) from another class, promoting code reuse and establishing a relationship between classes. In Java, the "extends" keyword is used to implement inheritance.

In the terminology of Java, a class which is inherited is called a parent or superclass, and the new class is called child or subclass.

Here's a basic example to illustrate inheritance in Java:

// Parent class (also called superclass)

class Animal {

String name;

public Animal(String name) {

this.name = name;

}

public void eat() {

System.out.println(name + " is eating.");

}

public void sleep() {

System.out.println(name + " is sleeping.");

}

}

// Child class (also called subclass)

class Dog extends Animal {

public Dog(String name) {

// Call the constructor of the superclass (Animal)

super(name);

}

public void bark() {

System.out.println(name + " is barking.");

}

}

public class InheritanceExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {

// Creating an instance of the Dog class

Dog myDog = new Dog("Buddy");

// Accessing methods from the superclass (Animal)

myDog.eat();

myDog.sleep();

// Accessing methods from the subclass (Dog)

myDog.bark();

}

}

Keep in mind that Java supports single inheritance, meaning a class can only extend one superclass. However, it can implement multiple interfaces to achieve a form of multiple inheritance.