In the previous lesson on pointers and references to the base class of derived objects, we took a look at a number of examples where using pointers or references to a base class had the potential to simplify code. However, in every case, we ran up against the problem that …
In the previous chapter, you learned all about how to use inheritance to derive new classes from existing classes. In this chapter, we are going to focus on one of the most important and powerful aspects of inheritance — virtual functions. But before we discuss what virtual functions are, let’s …
Last chapter, in lesson , we left off talking about the “diamond problem”. In this section, we will resume this discussion. Note: This section is an advanced topic and can be skipped or skimmed if desired. The diamond problem Here is our example from the previous lesson (with some constructors) …
So far, all of the examples of inheritance we’ve presented have been single inheritance — that is, each inherited class has one and only one parent. However, C++ provides the ability to do multiple inheritance. Multiple inheritance enables a derived class to inherit members from more than one parent. Let’s …
In the introduction to inheritance lesson, we mentioned that one of the biggest benefits of using derived classes is the ability to reuse already written code. You can inherit the base class functionality and then add new functionality, modify existing functionality, or hide functionality you don’t want. In this and …
In the previous lessons in this chapter, you’ve learned a bit about how base inheritance works. In all of our examples so far, we’ve used public inheritance. That is, our derived class publicly inherits the base class. In this lesson, we’ll take a closer look at public inheritance, as well …
In the past two lessons, we’ve explored some basics around inheritance in C++ and the order that derived classes are initialized. In this lesson, we’ll take a closer look at the role of constructors in the initialization of derived classes. To do so, we will continue to use the simple …
In the previous lesson on basic inheritance in C++, you learned that classes can inherit members and functions from other classes. In this lesson, we’re going to take a closer look at the order of construction that happens when a derived class is instantiated. First, let’s introduce some new classes …
Now that we’ve talked about what inheritance is in an abstract sense, let’s talk about how it’s used within C++. Inheritance in C++ takes place between classes. In an inheritance (is-a) relationship, the class being inherited from is called the parent class, base class, or superclass, and the class doing …
Consider the following example: #include <iostream> int add(int x, int y) { int sum{ x + y }; // stores x + y in a variable return sum; // returns value of that variable } int main() { std::cout << add(5, 3) << ‘\n’; return 0; } In the add() …
