C# Tutorial 7.2: Inheritance

 Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows a class to inherit properties and behaviors from another class. In C#, you can implement inheritance using the class keyword. Here's a simple tutorial on inheritance in C# with examples of different types of inheritance.

1. Basic Inheritance:

using System;
// Base class
class Animal
{
    public void Eat()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Animal is eating.");
    }
    public void Sleep()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Animal is sleeping.");
    }
}
// Derived class
class Dog : Animal
{
    public void Bark()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Dog is barking.");
    }
}
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Creating an instance of the derived class
        Dog myDog = new Dog();
        // Accessing methods from the base class
        myDog.Eat();
        myDog.Sleep();
        // Accessing methods from the derived class
        myDog.Bark();
    }
}

In this example, Dog is a derived class that inherits from the Animal base class. The Dog class can access the methods (Eat and Sleep) from the Animal class.

2. Types of Inheritance:

a. Single Inheritance:

// Base class
class Animal
{
    public void Eat()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Animal is eating.");
    }
}
// Derived class
class Dog : Animal
{
    public void Bark()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Dog is barking.");
    }
}
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Dog myDog = new Dog();
        myDog.Eat(); // Accessing base class method
        myDog.Bark(); // Accessing derived class method
    }
}

b. Multiple Inheritance (through Interfaces):

// Interface 1
interface IAnimal
{
    void Eat();
}
// Interface 2
interface IDog
{
    void Bark();
}
// Derived class implementing multiple interfaces
class Dog : IAnimal, IDog
{
    public void Eat()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Dog is eating.");
    }
    public void Bark()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Dog is barking.");
    }
}
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Dog myDog = new Dog();
        myDog.Eat(); // Accessing method from Interface 1
        myDog.Bark(); // Accessing method from Interface 2
    }
}

In C#, multiple inheritance is achieved through interfaces. The Dog class implements both IAnimal and IDog interfaces.

Conclusion:

Inheritance is a powerful mechanism that promotes code reuse and helps in building a hierarchy of classes. It allows you to create a base class with common functionality and then derive specialized classes from it. Understanding the different types of inheritance and how to use them is essential for effective object-oriented programming in C#.