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Multilevel Inheritance in Python
Multilevel inheritance is a type of inheritance where a class inherits from another class, which in turn inherits from another class, forming a hierarchy of classes. This allows for the creation of a more specific subclass that builds upon the functionality of its superclass and the superclass's superclass.
Example of Multilevel Inheritance
Let's look at an example to understand how multilevel inheritance works in Python.
# Base class
class Animal:
def __init__(self, name):
self.name = name
def speak(self):
return "Animal speaks"
# Intermediate class
class Mammal(Animal):
def __init__(self, name, type):
Animal.__init__(self, name)
self.type = type
def speak(self):
return "Mammal speaks"
# Derived class
class Dog(Mammal):
def __init__(self, name, type, breed):
Mammal.__init__(self, name, type)
self.breed = breed
def speak(self):
return "Dog barks"
# Create an instance of the derived class
dog = Dog("Buddy", "Domestic", "Golden Retriever")
print(dog.speak())
# Output: Dog barks
Explanation:
In this example, we have three classes: Animal
, Mammal
, and Dog
. The Animal
class is the base class with an __init__
method and a speak
method. The Mammal
class is an intermediate class that inherits from Animal
and adds its own __init__
and speak
methods. The Dog
class is the derived class that inherits from Mammal
, adding an additional attribute breed
and overriding the speak
method to provide its own implementation.
Advantages of Multilevel Inheritance
- Hierarchical Classification: Allows for the creation of a clear hierarchical structure, making it easier to understand relationships between classes.
- Code Reusability: Promotes code reuse by allowing derived classes to inherit and extend the functionality of base classes.
- Specialization: Enables the creation of more specialized classes that build on the functionality of more general classes.
Disadvantages of Multilevel Inheritance
- Increased Complexity: Can increase the complexity of the class hierarchy, making it more difficult to understand and maintain.
- Dependency Chain: Creates a dependency chain where changes in base classes can affect all derived classes, potentially leading to unintended side effects.
Method Resolution Order (MRO)
In multilevel inheritance, the order in which methods are resolved is determined by the Method Resolution Order (MRO). The mro()
method can be used to display the MRO of a class.
print(Dog.mro())
# Output: [<class 'Dog'>, <class 'Mammal'>, <class 'Animal'>, <class 'object'>]
Key Points
- Multilevel inheritance allows a class to inherit from another class, which in turn inherits from another class, forming a hierarchy.
- Provides hierarchical classification, code reuse, and specialization of classes.
- Can increase complexity and create a dependency chain, requiring careful management.
- Method Resolution Order (MRO) determines the order in which methods are resolved in the class hierarchy.