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C++ Inheritance
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In this tutorial, we will learn about inheritance in C++ with

the help of examples.

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Inheritance is one of the key features of Object-oriented

programming in C++. It allows us to create a new class
(/cpp-programming/object-class) (derived class) from an
existing class (base class).

The derived class inherits the features from the base

class and can have additional features of its own. For
example,

class Animal {
// eat() function
// sleep() function
};

class Dog : public Animal {

// bark() function
};

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 Here,
Thank you for printing the
our content class
Dog at is derived from the Please
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contents.
Since Dog is derived from Animal , members of Animal

are accessible to Dog .

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Inheritance in C++

Notice the use of the keyword public while inheriting

Dog from Animal.

class Dog : public Animal {...};

We can also use the keywords private and protected

instead of public . We will learn about the differences

between using private , public and protected later in
this tutorial.

is-a relationship
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 Inheritance
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only if an is-a relationship is present between the two
classes.
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Here are some examples:
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A car is a vehicle.

Orange is a fruit.

A surgeon is a doctor.

A dog is an animal.

Example 1: Simple Example of C++

Inheritance

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// C++ program to demonstrate inheritance
contents.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
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// base class
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class Animal {

public:
void eat() {
cout << "I can eat!" << endl;
}

void sleep() {
cout << "I can sleep!" << endl;
}
};

// derived class
class Dog : public Animal {

public:
void bark() {
cout << "I can bark! Woof woof!!" << endl;
}
};

int main() {
// Create object of the Dog class

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Output

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I can eat!
contents.
I can sleep!
I can bark! Woof woof!!
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Here, dog1 (the object of derived class
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members of the base class Animal . It's because Dog is
inherited from Animal .

// Calling members of the Animal class

dog1.eat();
dog1.sleep();

C++ protected Members

The access modifier protected is especially relevant
when it comes to C++ inheritance.

Like private members, protected members are

inaccessible outside of the class. However, they can be
accessed by derived classes and friend
classes/functions.

We need protected members if we want to hide the data

of a class, but still want that data to be inherited by its
derived classes.

To learn more about protected, refer to our C++ Access

Modifiers (/cpp-programming/access-modifiers) tutorial.

Example 2 : C++ protected Members

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// C++ program to demonstrate protected members
contents.
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
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using
(/) namespace std;
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// base class
class Animal {

private:
string color;

protected:
string type;

public:
void eat() {
cout << "I can eat!" << endl;
}

void sleep() {
cout << "I can sleep!" << endl;
}

void setColor(string clr) {

color = clr;
}

string getColor() {

Output

I can eat!
I can sleep!
I can bark! Woof woof!!
I am a mammal
My color is black

Here, the variable type is protected and is thus

accessible from the derived class Dog . We can see this
as we have initialized type in the Dog class using the
function setType() .

On the other hand, the private variable color cannot

be initialized in Dog .
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class Dog : public Animal {
contents.
public:
void setColor(string
Search clr) {
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color =www.domain-name.com
clr;
}
};

Also, since the protected keyword hides data, we cannot

access type directly from an object of Dog or Animal

class.

// Error: member "Animal::type" is inaccessible

dog1.type = "mammal";

Access Modes in C++ Inheritance

In our previous tutorials, we have learned about C++
access specifiers such as public, private, and protected
(/cpp-programming/public-protected-private-
inheritance).

So far, we have used the public keyword in order to

inherit a class from a previously-existing base class.
However, we can also use the private and protected

keywords to inherit classes. For example,

class Animal {
// code
};

class Dog : private Animal {

// code
};

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class Cat : protected Animal {
contents.
// code
};
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The various ways we can derive classes are known as
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access modes. These access modes have the following
effect:

. public: If a derived class is declared in public mode,

then the members of the base class are inherited by
the derived class just as they are.

. private: In this case, all the members of the base class

become private members in the derived class.

. protected: The public members of the base class

become protected members in the derived class.

The private members of the base class are always

private in the derived class.

To learn more, visit our C++ public, private, protected

inheritance (/cpp-programming/public-protected-
private-inheritance) tutorial.

Member Function Overriding in

Inheritance
Suppose, base class and derived class have member
functions with the same name and arguments.

If we create an object of the derived class and try to

access that member function, the member function in the
derived class is invoked instead of the one in the base
class.
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member function of base class.

Learn more about

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Recommended Reading: C++ Multiple Inheritance

Next Tutorial:
(/cpp-programming/public-
Inheritance
protected-private-inheritance)
Access Control

Previous Tutorial:
C++ Memory (/cpp-programming/memory-
management)
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