Object Oriented

Inheritance

Python

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Inheriting

Python 2.7
class Person:
  
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

    def greet(self):
        print("Hi! I'm " + name)

    
class Teacher(Person):
  
    def __init__(self, name, grade):
        Person.__init__(self, name)
        self.grade = grade

Classes can inherit methods and properties of another class.

In this example, the Teacher class inherits the name property and greet() method from the Person class.

teacher1 = Teacher("Alice", 2)
name = teacher1.name     # Alice
teacher1.greet()         # Hi! I'm Alice

You need to explicitly call the Parent (Person) Constructor from the children (Teacher) Constructors.

Notice that we are passing self on calling the parent constructor.

 

Overriding Methods

Python 2.7
class Person:
  
  def __init__(self, name):
    self.name = name;
  
  def greet(self):
    print("Hi! I'm " + self.name)

  
class Teacher(Person):

    def __init__(self, name):
        Person.__init__(self, name)

    def greet(self):
        print("Hello! I am " + self.name)

    def greet2(self):
        Person.greet(self)

Inherited methods from a parent class can be overridden in the children's classes.

Overriding methods is more like extending the definition rather than replacing them.

teacher1 = Teacher("Alice")

teacher1.greet()     # Hello! I am Alice
teacher1.greet2()    # Hi! I'm Alice
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