inheritance in cpp

9/13/2025

inheritance in cpp

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Inheritance in C++ Tutorial

Introduction

Inheritance is a core feature of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in C++. It allows a class (derived class) to inherit properties and behaviors from another class (base class). This promotes code reusability and logical hierarchy.

inheritance in cpp

What is Inheritance?

Inheritance allows you to create a new class based on an existing class. The new class gets access to the data members and member functions of the existing class.

Key Points:

  • Base class (Parent) – The class whose features are inherited

  • Derived class (Child) – The class that inherits features from the base class

  • Access specifiers: public, protected, private

Types of Inheritance in C++

  • Single Inheritance – One base and one derived class

  • Multiple Inheritance – One derived class inherits from multiple base classes

  • Multilevel Inheritance – A class derived from another derived class

  • Hierarchical Inheritance – Multiple derived classes inherit from a single base class

  • Hybrid Inheritance – Combination of two or more types

Example – Single Inheritance (Developer → TeamLead)

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

// Base class
class Developer {
public:
    string name;
    string skills;

    void work() {
        cout << name << " is coding using " << skills << "." << endl;
    }
};

// Derived class
class TeamLead : public Developer {
public:
    int teamSize;

    void manageTeam() {
        cout << name << " is managing a team of " << teamSize << " developers." << endl;
    }
};

int main() {
    TeamLead lead;
    lead.name = "Alice";
    lead.skills = "C++ and Python";
    lead.teamSize = 5;

    lead.work();
    lead.manageTeam();

    return 0;
}

Output:

Alice is coding using C++ and Python.
Alice is managing a team of 5 developers.

Access Specifiers in Inheritance

  • Public inheritance – Public and protected members remain accessible as they are.

  • Protected inheritance – Public and protected members of base become protected in derived.

  • Private inheritance – Public and protected members of base become private in derived.

Benefits of Inheritance in C++

  • Code reusability – Avoid rewriting code for similar classes

  • Extensibility – Easily extend base class features in new classes

  • Maintainability – Centralized code makes updates easier

  • Real-world modeling – Models hierarchical relationships like Employee → Manager

Conclusion

Inheritance allows you to build new classes on top of existing ones, saving time and effort.

  • Base class provides common functionality

  • Derived class extends or customizes it

This is a key principle of OOP that simplifies large program design.

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