Beginning C++17: From Novice to Professional

© Ivor Horton and Peter Van Weert 2018

Ivor Horton and Peter Van WeertBeginning C++17https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-3366-5_13

13. Inheritance

Ivor Horton¹  and Peter Van Weert²

(1)

Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK

(2)

Kessel-Lo, Belgium

 

In this chapter, you’ll look at a topic that lies at the heart of object-oriented programming: inheritance. Inheritance is the means by which you can create new classes by reusing and expanding on existing class definitions. Inheritance is also fundamental to making polymorphism possible. We’ll discuss polymorphism in the next chapter, so what you’ll learn there is an integral part of what inheritance is all about. There are subtleties in inheritance that we’ll tease out using code that shows what is happening. ...