19CST102 & Object Oriented Programming

SNS COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

(An Autonomous Institution)
COIMBATORE – 35
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SIENCE AND ENGINEERING

UNIT 3

Inheritance in Java
1. Inheritance
2. Types of Inheritance
3. Why multiple inheritance is not possible in Java in case of class?

Inheritance in Java is a mechanism in which one object acquires all the properties and
behaviors 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

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

 For Code Reusability.

Terms used in Inheritance

 Class: A class is a group of objects which have common properties. It is a template or

blueprint from which objects are created.
 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.
 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.
 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

1. class Subclass-name extends Superclass-name

2. {
3. //methods and fields
4. }

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 19CST102 & Object Oriented Programming

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.

Java Inheritance Example

As displayed in the above figure, Programmer is the subclass and Employee is the superclass.
The relationship between the two classes is Programmer IS-A Employee. It means that
Programmer is a type of Employee.

1. class Employee
2. {
3. float salary=40000;
4. }
5.
6. class Programmer extends Employee
7. {
8. int bonus=10000;
9. public static void main(String args[])
10. {
11. Programmer p=new Programmer();
12. System.out.println("Programmer salary is:"+p.salary);
13. System.out.println("Bonus of Programmer is:"+p.bonus);
14. }
15. }

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 19CST102 & Object Oriented Programming

Test it Now
Programmer salary is:40000.0
Bonus of programmer is:10000

In the above example, Programmer object can access the field of own class as well as of
Employee class i.e. code reusability.

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.

Note: Multiple inheritance is not supported in Java through class.

When one class inherits multiple classes, it is known as multiple inheritance. For Example:

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 19CST102 & Object Oriented Programming

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.

File: TestInheritance.java

1. class Animal
2. {
3. void eat()
4. {
5. System.out.println("eating...");
6. }
7. }
8.
9. class Dog extends Animal
10. {
11. void bark()
12. {
13. System.out.println("barking...");
14. }
15. }

16. class TestInheritance

17. {

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 19CST102 & Object Oriented Programming

18. public static void main(String args[])

19. {
20. Dog d=new Dog();
21. d.bark();
22. d.eat();
23. }
24. }

Output:

barking...
eating...

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.

File: TestInheritance2.java

1. class Animal
2. {
3. void eat()
4. {
5. System.out.println("eating...");
6. }
7. }
8.
9. class Dog extends Animal
10. {
11. void bark()
12. {
13. System.out.println("barking...");
14. }
15. }
16.
17. class BabyDog extends Dog
18. {
19. void weep()
20. {
21. System.out.println("weeping...");
22. }
23. }
24. class TestInheritance2
25. {
26. public static void main(String args[])
27. {
28. BabyDog d=new BabyDog();
29. d.weep();

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 19CST102 & Object Oriented Programming

30. d.bark();
31. d.eat();
32. }
33. }

Output:

weeping...
barking...
eating...

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.

File: TestInheritance3.java

1. class Animal
2. {
3. void eat()
4. {
5. System.out.println("eating...");
6. }
7. }
8.
9. class Dog extends Animal
10. {
11. void bark()
12. {
13. System.out.println("barking...");
14. }
15. }
16.
17. class Cat extends Animal
18. {
19. void meow()
20. {System.out.println("meowing...");}
21. }
22. class TestInheritance3
23. {
24. public static void main(String args[])
25. {
26. Cat c=new Cat();
27. c.meow();
28. c.eat();
29. //c.bark();//C.T.Error
30. }
31. }

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 19CST102 & Object Oriented Programming

Output:

meowing...
eating...

Q) 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.

1. class A
2. {
3. void msg(){System.out.println("Hello");}
4. }
5. class B
6. {
7. void msg(){System.out.println("Welcome");}
8. }
9.
10. class C extends A,B{//suppose if it were
11. public static void main(String args[])
12. {
13. C obj=new C();
14. obj.msg();//Now which msg() method would be invoked?
15. }
16. }

Test it Now
Compile Time Error

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