PROJECT 10 - ANIMAL KINGDOM

Inheritance is an essential concept in object-oriented programming that allows a new class (called a derived or child class) to inherit attributes and methods from an existing class (called a base or parent class). This mechanism promotes code reuse and can help manage complexity in software development.

Let's consider plants:

While all plants share some common characteristics, they also have unique features. For example:

• Flowers might have a specific color and the ability to bloom.

• Trees typically grow to much larger sizes and may shed leaves annually.

• Cacti are adapted to store water and thrive in arid environments.

These differences are perfect candidates for demonstrating inheritance, where specialised classes inherit common features from the Plant base class but also introduce their own unique properties and behaviors.

Building on our base Plant class, we can now create several derived classes that represent different types of plants.
Each of these will extend the base class with its unique attributes and methods.

class Flower(Plant):

    def __init__(self, name, age, habitat, color):

        super().__init__(name, age, habitat)

        self.color = color

    def bloom(self):

        return f"{self.name}, a {self.color} flower, blooms beautifully!"

class Tree(Plant):

    def __init__(self, name, age, habitat, height):

        super().__init__(name, age, habitat)

        self.height = height

    def shed_leaves(self):

        return f"{self.name} sheds its leaves for the season."

class Cactus(Plant):

    def __init__(self, name, age, habitat, has_flowers):

        super().__init__(name, age, habitat)

        self.has_flowers = has_flowers

    def store_water(self):

        return f"{self.name} stores water to survive the dry period."

In the derived class constructors, you might notice the use of super(). This function is crucial as it allows the child class to call methods from the parent class, which in this case, is to initialise inherited attributes.

Why use super()?

• Initialisation Reuse: It helps in reusing the initialisation code of the parent class without rewriting it.

• Maintainability: Makes the code easier to maintain, as changes to the parent class constructor need to be made only in one place.