← Python

OOP – Inheritance (basic)

A child class inherits methods and attributes from a parent class by naming it in parentheses

What it does: Dog gets all of Animal's methods and attributes automatically. super().__init__() sets up the parent's attributes in the child. Inheritance lets a child class reuse all the code already written in the parent. The class in parentheses is the parent — Dog inherits from Animal. super() gives you a reference to the parent class so you can call its methods. Child classes inherit all parent methods without needing to copy them. Defining speak() in Dog replaces the inherited version — called method overriding. isinstance() returns True for the object's class AND all its parent classes.

Common mistakes: Should call super().__init__(name) to use the parent's initialization. Parent's __init__ expects name must pass it: super().__init__(name).

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Learning

Duo

What is inheritance?

A child class gets methods from a parent classCopying a file

Matches

❌ class Dog(Animal)

↓

Error: Missing colon at end of class definition

Applying

Meanings

Term

Inheritance

Meaning

A child class receives methods and attributes from a parent class.

Practice

class Animal:

Testing

Gaps

class Dog():

Check Answer

Spots

2 def __init__(self, name, breed):

3 self.name = name

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Quick Questions

1. What is inheritance?

A. A child class gets methods from a parent class ✓

B. Copying a file

Inheritance lets a child class reuse all the code already written in the parent

2. class Dog(Animal): what is Animal?

A. The child class

B. The parent (base) class ✓

The class in parentheses is the parent — Dog inherits from Animal

3. What does super() do?

A. Accesses the parent class ✓

B. Creates a new class

super() gives you a reference to the parent class so you can call its methods

4. If Animal has speak(), does Dog get it?

A. No must redefine

B. Yes automatically through inheritance ✓

Child classes inherit all parent methods without needing to copy them

5. Can Dog override Animal's speak()?

A. Yes define speak() in Dog ✓

B. No parent methods are locked

Defining speak() in Dog replaces the inherited version — called method overriding

Match the Pairs

class Dog(Animal) → Error: Missing colon at end of class definition

super(Animal).__init__() → Error: super() takes no arguments in Python 3

class Dog(Animal): → Valid: Dog inherits from Animal

super().__init__() → Ok: Calls the parent class constructor

issubclass(bool, int) → Output: True

isinstance(True, int) → Output: True

Key Term

Inheritance

A child class receives methods and attributes from a parent class.~~Parent class

Fill in the Blanks

1. class Dog(Animal): pass

2. class Dog(Animal): def __init__(self, name, breed): super().__init__(name)

3. class Dog(Animal): def speak(self): return self.name + ' says Woof!' # this overrides the parent

4. dog = Dog('Rex') print(isinstance(dog, Animal))

5. class Circle(Shape): def __init__(self, color, radius): super().__init__(color)

Spot the Error

Question 1

A class Dog(Animal):

B def __init__(self, name, breed):

C self.name = name

D self.breed = breed

Line C — Should call super().__init__(name) to use the parent's initialization

Question 2

A class Dog(Animal):

B def __init__(self, name, breed):

C super().__init__()

D self.breed = breed

Line C — Parent's __init__ expects name must pass it: super().__init__(name)

Question 3

A class Dog extends Animal:

B def __init__(self, name):

C super().__init__(name)

D def bark(self):

E return 'Woof!'

Line A — Python uses parentheses for inheritance, not 'extends' (that's Java)

Question 4

A class Dog(Animal):

B def __init__(self, name):

C super.__init__(name)

Line C — super needs parentheses: super().__init__, not super.__init__

Question 5

A class Animal:

B def speak(self):

C return 'Sound'

E class Dog(Animal):

F def speak():

G return 'Woof'

Line F — Override method needs self parameter too

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