C# 4.0 Unleashed

Single Inheritance for Classes

The CLR, the C# programming language, as well as other Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) languages support only single inheritance for classes. In other words, only a single base class can be used for any given class. When omitted, that base class is System.Object. In the example shown in Figure 14.6, we try to declare a class Tomato, which is both a Fruit and a Vegetable.

Figure 14.6. No multiple-class inheritance allowed.

The Diamond Problem

One of the main reasons for not supporting multiple-class inheritance in the CLR comes from the well-known problems and complexities that arise from multiple inheritance, ...