B.TECH CSE BT ECE(oop's) : Inheritance in C++

Inheritance in C++

The capability of a class to derive properties and characteristics from another class is called Inheritance. Inheritance is one of the most important feature of Object Oriented Programming. Sub Class: The class that inherits properties from another class is called Sub class or Derived Class. Super Class:The class whose properties are inherited by sub class is called Base Class or Super class. 

Modes of Inheritance

1. Public mode: If we derive a sub class from a public base class. Then the public member of the base class will become public in the derived class and protected members of the base class will become protected in derived class.
2. Protected mode: If we derive a sub class from a Protected base class. Then both public member and protected members of the base class will become protected in derived class.
3. Private mode: If we derive a sub class from a Private base class. Then both public member and protected members of the base class will become Private in derived class.

 The below table summarizes the above three modes and shows the access specifier of the members of base class in the sub class when derived in public, protected and private modes:



For Example:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

  

// first base class

class Vehicle {

  public:

    Vehicle()

    {

      cout << "This is a Vehicle" << endl;

    }

};

  

// second base class

class FourWheeler {

  public:

    FourWheeler()

    {

      cout << "This is a 4 wheeler Vehicle" << endl;

    }

};

  

// sub class derived from two base classes

class Car: public Vehicle, public FourWheeler {

  

};

  

// main function

int main()

{   

    // creating object of sub class will

    // invoke the constructor of base classes

    Car obj;

    return 0;

}