What is Inheritance?
In Python, inheritance is one of the fundamental concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP). It refers to the ability of a subclass to inherit properties and behaviors (i.e., methods and attributes) from a parent class. Inheritance allows for code reuse and helps to create a hierarchical structure of classes, where subclasses can specialize or extend the functionality of their parent classes.
To inherit a subclass from another class, you can write its name in parentheses () after the subclass name (without space):
Code Description
User and Staff. The User class is the parent class, and the Staff class is the child class inherited from the User.The
User class has a class attribute named role with the string "User".The
Staff class does not define any additional attributes or methods. It inherits the role attribute from the User class.When
print(Staff.role) is called, it accesses the role attribute directly from the Staff class. Since the Staff class does not have its own role attribute defined, it inherits the role attribute from the User class. Therefore, it will output "User".
This code demonstrates that child classes can access attributes from their parent classes, allowing them to use or override them as needed.
Note
The interpreter searches attributes from the Child to the last Parent in order.
Look at the code example:
Code Description
User and Staff. The User class has a class attribute role with the string "User", an instance attribute name initialized through the constructor (__init__), and a method print_name() that prints the role and name of the user instance.The
Staff class is derived from the User class using the pass statement, meaning it inherits all the attributes and methods from the base class.An instance of the
Staff class named bob is created with the name "Bob" passed as an argument to its constructor. When bob.print_name() is called, it invokes the print_name() method inherited from the User class, which prints "Is a User with the name Bob". Note that the self.role expression in print_name() refers to the role attribute of the instance, which in this case is inherited from the User class.
The code then accesses the role attribute of the bob instance using bob.role. Since the role attribute is not defined in the Staff class or the bob instance, it falls back to the role attribute of the User class, and "User" is printed.
In summary, this code demonstrates how class attributes can be inherited and accessed by instances, as well as how instance attributes are unique to each instance.
Code Description
Staff class to override the role attribute inherited from the User class. In the updated code, the
Staff class defines its own role attribute with the value "Staff". This attribute declaration in the Staff class shadows the role attribute inherited from the User class.When
bob.print_name() is called, it still executes the print_name() method inherited from the User class. However, when accessing the self.role attribute within the print_name() method, it now refers to the role attribute defined in the Staff class. Therefore, it will output "Is a Staff with the name Bob".Similarly, when print(bob.role) is called, it accesses the role attribute from the Staff class, which has overridden the role attribute from the User class. As a result, it will output "Staff".
¿Todo estuvo claro?
Contenido del Curso
In-Depth Python OOP
4. Polymorphism and Abstraction
In-Depth Python OOP
What is Inheritance?
In Python, inheritance is one of the fundamental concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP). It refers to the ability of a subclass to inherit properties and behaviors (i.e., methods and attributes) from a parent class. Inheritance allows for code reuse and helps to create a hierarchical structure of classes, where subclasses can specialize or extend the functionality of their parent classes.
To inherit a subclass from another class, you can write its name in parentheses () after the subclass name (without space):
Code Description
User and Staff. The User class is the parent class, and the Staff class is the child class inherited from the User.The
User class has a class attribute named role with the string "User".The
Staff class does not define any additional attributes or methods. It inherits the role attribute from the User class.When
print(Staff.role) is called, it accesses the role attribute directly from the Staff class. Since the Staff class does not have its own role attribute defined, it inherits the role attribute from the User class. Therefore, it will output "User".
This code demonstrates that child classes can access attributes from their parent classes, allowing them to use or override them as needed.
Note
The interpreter searches attributes from the Child to the last Parent in order.
Look at the code example:
Code Description
User and Staff. The User class has a class attribute role with the string "User", an instance attribute name initialized through the constructor (__init__), and a method print_name() that prints the role and name of the user instance.The
Staff class is derived from the User class using the pass statement, meaning it inherits all the attributes and methods from the base class.An instance of the
Staff class named bob is created with the name "Bob" passed as an argument to its constructor. When bob.print_name() is called, it invokes the print_name() method inherited from the User class, which prints "Is a User with the name Bob". Note that the self.role expression in print_name() refers to the role attribute of the instance, which in this case is inherited from the User class.
The code then accesses the role attribute of the bob instance using bob.role. Since the role attribute is not defined in the Staff class or the bob instance, it falls back to the role attribute of the User class, and "User" is printed.
In summary, this code demonstrates how class attributes can be inherited and accessed by instances, as well as how instance attributes are unique to each instance.
Code Description
Staff class to override the role attribute inherited from the User class. In the updated code, the
Staff class defines its own role attribute with the value "Staff". This attribute declaration in the Staff class shadows the role attribute inherited from the User class.When
bob.print_name() is called, it still executes the print_name() method inherited from the User class. However, when accessing the self.role attribute within the print_name() method, it now refers to the role attribute defined in the Staff class. Therefore, it will output "Is a Staff with the name Bob".Similarly, when print(bob.role) is called, it accesses the role attribute from the Staff class, which has overridden the role attribute from the User class. As a result, it will output "Staff".
¿Todo estuvo claro?
