Arizona State University (ASU) CSE240 Introduction to Programming Languages Midterm Practice Exam

Inheritance in programming is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows a class, known as a derived class or subclass, to acquire properties and behaviors (methods) from another class, referred to as the base class or superclass. This mechanism enables code reusability and establishes a relationship between the classes, forming a hierarchy.

When a derived class inherits from a base class, it can use the attributes and methods of the base class as if they were its own. This means that the derived class can extend or customize the inherited functionality as needed while maintaining a logical connection to the base class. For example, if a base class `Animal` has a method `makeSound`, a derived class `Dog` can inherit this method and may also override it to provide a specific implementation, such as barking.

The other options describe different concepts in programming. One talks about altering the behavior of a class, which relates to polymorphism rather than inheritance. Another option refers to data structures that hold multiple types, like tuples or arrays, which does not involve inheritance. The final option touches on encapsulation, which is about restricting access to certain details in order to protect the integrity of an object, not about inheriting properties from one class to another