Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

Section 4: Inheritance

Lesson 22, 23 and 24

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 1

Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

Inheritance in JAVA
Inheritance in Java is a mechanism in which one object acquires all the properties and
behaviours of a parent object. It is an important part of OOPs (Object Oriented
programming system).

The idea behind inheritance in Java is that you can create new classes that are built
upon existing classes. When you inherit from an existing class, you can reuse methods
and fields of the parent class. Moreover, you can add new methods and fields in your
current class also.

Inheritance represents the IS-A relationship which is also known as a parent-

child relationship.

Why use inheritance in java

o For Method Overriding (so runtime polymorphism can be achieved).

o For Code Reusability.

Terms used in Inheritance

o Class: A class is a group of objects which have common properties. It is a

template or blueprint from which objects are created.
o Sub Class/Child Class: Subclass is a class which inherits the other class. It is also
called a derived class, extended class, or child class.
o Super Class/Parent Class: Superclass is the class from where a subclass inherits
the features. It is also called a base class or a parent class.
o Reusability: As the name specifies, reusability is a mechanism which facilitates
you to reuse the fields and methods of the existing class when you create a new
class. You can use the same fields and methods already defined in the previous
class.

The syntax of Java Inheritance

class Subclass-name extends Superclass-name

{
//methods and fields
}

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 2

Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

The extends keyword indicates that you are making a new class that derives from an
existing class. The meaning of "extends" is to increase the functionality.

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.

Inheritance Example

In this example, we have a base class Teacher and a sub class PhysicsTeacher. Since
class PhysicsTeacher extends the designation and college properties and work()
method from base class, we need not to declare these properties and method in sub
class.
Here we have collegeName, designation and work() method which are common to all
the teachers so we have declared them in the base class, this way the child classes
like MathTeacher, ChemTeacher and PhysicsTeacher do not need to write this code and
can be used directly from base class.

class Teacher
{
String designation = "Teacher";
String collegeName = "IIUC";

void does()
{
System.out.println("Teaching");
}
}

public class PhysicsTeacher extends Teacher

{
String mainSubject = "Physics";
public static void main(String args[])
{
PhysicsTeacher obj = new PhysicsTeacher();
System.out.println(obj.collegeName);
System.out.println(obj.designation);
System.out.println(obj.mainSubject);
obj.does();
}
}

Output:
IIUC
Teacher
Physics
Teaching

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 3

Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

Based on the above example we can say that PhysicsTeacher IS-A Teacher. This means
that a child class has IS-A relationship with the parent class. This is inheritance is
known as IS-A relationship between child and parent class

Types of Inheritance

There are various types of inheritance as demonstrated below.

Hybrid Inheritance ~ Mixer of Above

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 4

Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

Single Inheritance Example

When a class inherits another class, it is known as a single inheritance. In the example
given below, Dog class inherits the Animal class, so there is the single inheritance.

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......

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 5

Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

Multilevel Inheritance Example

When there is a chain of inheritance, it is known as multilevel inheritance. As you can see
in the example given below, BabyDog class inherits the Dog class which again inherits
the Animal class, so there is a multilevel inheritance.

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 TestInheritance
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
BabyDog d=new BabyDog();
d.weep();
d.bark();
d.eat();
}
}

Output:
weeping....
barking....
eating.....

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 6

Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

Hierarchical Inheritance Example

When two or more classes inherits a single class, it is known as hierarchical inheritance.
In the example given below, Dog and Cat classes inherits the Animal class, so there is
hierarchical inheritance.

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 TestInheritance
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
Cat c=new Cat();
c.meow();
c.eat();
//c.bark();//C.T.Error
}
}

Output:
meowing...
eating....

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 7

Course Title: Object Oriented Programming with JAVA Course Code: CCE-1207

Why multiple inheritance is not supported in java?

To reduce the complexity and simplify the language, multiple inheritance is not
supported in java.

Consider a scenario where A, B, and C are three classes. The C class inherits A and B
classes. If A and B classes have the same method and you call it from child class object,
there will be ambiguity to call the method of A or B class.

Since compile-time errors are better than runtime errors, Java renders compile-time
error if you inherit 2 classes. So whether you have same method or different, there will
be compile time error.

class A
{
void msg()
{
System.out.println("Hello");
}
}

class B
{
void msg()
{
System.out.println("Welcome");
}
}

class C extends A,B //suppose if it were

{
public static void main(String args[])
{
C obj=new C();
obj.msg(); //Now which msg() method would be invoked?
}
}

Output: Compile time error

 Java overcome this ambiguity issue using interface [we will discuss this topic later]

Engr. MD Jiabul Hoque, Lecturer, CCE, IIUC Page 8