Core C++ A Software Engineering Approach

Multiple Inheritance: Several Base Classes

In C++, a derived class might have more than one base class. With single inheritance, the hierarchy of classes is a tree, with the base class on the top of the hierarchy and derived classes below the base class.

With multiple inheritance, the hierarchy of classes might become a graph rather than a tree as with single inheritance. This makes the relationships among classes more complex than with single inheritance. The issues related to multiple inheritance are more difficult to understand than for simple inheritance.

Similar to single inheritance, multiple inheritance is not so much a technique to make the client code simpler or easier to understand; it is a technique that makes the server code easier ...