Flash cards
Review the key moves
What is the main idea behind Python Inheritance?
Lesson checks
Practice each idea before moving on
Short Mimo-style checks built from this lesson's code, terms, and sequence.
Which statement best captures the main point of this lesson?
Put the learning moves in the order that makes the concept easiest to apply.
Inheritance allows us to define a class that inherits all the methods and properties from another class.
Parent class is the class being inherited from, also called base class.
Child class is the class that inherits from another class, also called derived class.
Create a Parent Class
Any class can be a parent class, so the syntax is the same as creating any other class:
PersonCreate a Child Class
To create a class that inherits the functionality from another class, send the parent class as a parameter when creating the child class:
Example
Create a class named Student , which will inherit the properties and methods from the Person class:
class Student(Person):
passNote
Use the pass keyword when you do not want to add any other properties or methods to the class.
Now the Student class has the same properties and methods as the Person class.
StudentAdd the __init__() Function
So far we have created a child class that inherits the properties and methods from its parent.
We want to add the init() function to the child class (instead of the pass keyword).
Note
The init() function is called automatically every time the class is being used to create a new object.
Example
Add the init() function to the Student class:
class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
#add properties etc.When you add the init() function, the child class will no longer inherit the parent's init() function.
Note
The child's init() function overrides the inheritance of the parent's init() function.
To keep the inheritance of the parent's init() function, add a call to the parent's init() function:
Example
class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
Person.__init__(self, fname, lname)Now we have successfully added the init() function, and kept the inheritance of the parent class, and we are ready to add functionality in the init() function.
Use the super() Function
Python also has a super() function that will make the child class inherit all the methods and properties from its parent:
Example
class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
super().__init__(fname, lname)By using the super() function, you do not have to use the name of the parent element, it will automatically inherit the methods and properties from its parent.
Add Properties
graduationyearIn the example below, the year 2019 should be a variable, and passed into the Student class when creating student objects. To do so, add another parameter in the init() function:
yearAdd Methods
welcomeIf you add a method in the child class with the same name as a function in the parent class, the inheritance of the parent method will be overridden.