Java inheritance with example

Inheritance is a mechanism in Java that allows one class to inherit the properties and behaviors of another class. The class that inherits is called the child or subclass, and the class that is inherited from is called the parent or superclass.

Here’s an example to illustrate inheritance in Java:

public class Animal {
    private String name;

    public Animal(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public void eat() {
        System.out.println(name + " is eating.");
    }
}

public class Dog extends Animal {
    public Dog(String name) {
        super(name);
    }

    public void bark() {
        System.out.println("Woof!");
    }
}

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Dog dog = new Dog("Buddy");
        dog.eat(); // output: Buddy is eating.
        dog.bark(); // output: Woof!
    }
}

In this example, we have defined an Animal class with a constructor that takes a name parameter and an eat method. We have also defined a Dog class that extends Animal and has a bark method.

The Dog class inherits the name and eat properties from the Animal class, and adds the bark behavior. When we create a Dog object, we can call both the inherited eat method and the bark method.

Inheritance in Java provides several benefits, including code reuse, the ability to create specialized classes from existing ones, and polymorphism. By using inheritance, we can create a hierarchy of classes that represent the real-world relationships between objects.