Page 16 - Data Structures Interactive Book
P. 16
program. By using classes and objects, programmers can model complex systems in a
structured way. For example, a Student class may contain attributes such as name and id,
along with methods to display or process student information. This abstraction makes
programs easier to understand and extend.
Example:
1.2.2 Inheritance
Inheritance allows a new class (derived class) to acquire properties and behaviors from
an existing class (base class). This mechanism promotes code reuse and establishes
hierarchical relationships between classes. For instance, a GraduateStudent class may inherit
attributes and methods from a general Student class while adding specialized features.
Inheritance supports extensibility and reduces redundancy in program design.
1.2.3 Polymorphism
Polymorphism means “many forms” and allows functions or methods to behave
differently depending on context. In C++, polymorphism is achieved through function
overloading and function overriding. Function overloading enables multiple functions with
the same name but different parameter lists, while function overriding allows a derived class
16

